Operation Parent Trap
by TheSovietsAreHere
Summary: Alfred and Natalya fell in love. The first month of their meeting, they were married. Three months later, the couple found out to be expecting twin baby girls. Unfortunately, after certain events, the two divorced from one another. 11 years later, the two daughters discover their existence and agree to work together to have their parents reunite. Based on "The Parent Trap".
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

" _I do."_

The day the two were wedded was a very unexpected event. They had just met a month or so prior before the sudden question was popped and agreed to.

It was a small wedding that took place at a resort in Washington, D.C. She was visiting from Moscow to conduct some research as a analyst in the city and send over sketches to magazines in hopes to pursue a possible career in designing wedding dresses, while he was there to attend a business meeting in order to promote the small vineyard he owned back in California.

The day they met was almost similar to a stereotypical love story. A rushing girl bumps into a man accidentally, he helps her up, and it was love at first sight.

Almost every day, Alfred would beg the Russian woman to come out with him to explore the city. She wasn't the type of person to become so interested in someone that easily. Alas, the charming ways of the man managed to convince her otherwise.

Three times a week they would be with each other. The American would be the one to insist he go out with her, and through persuasion and begging, Natalya gave in. The two would go out to dinner, attend the theatre, and there would be even small nights where they would relax in her apartment and watch movies together.

The day he proposed to her was just as unexpected as the wedding. It was the week before she was supposed to return to her home in Russia, where her job awaited her and possible future of becoming a designer for wedding dresses would begin. For their last date, he insisted that they have a picnic together in Lincoln Park… And it was there that he popped the question.

He expressed that there was no one in the entire world that he could see himself with other than her. The way he smiled at her and held her hand while his other hand held black velvet box that contained a ring inside it made the woman head over heels. That smile and his efforts to have her stay with him was what made her agree to the union.

The day she was supposed to fly home, she was walking down the aisle. Her family was not fond of the idea of her being married off so soon, especially after knowing this man for only one month. At only twenty-two years old, Natalya believed she was making the right choice. Her heart was saying yes, while her mind tried to convince her otherwise.

The ceremony itself was small. Natalya's family managed to make their way from the foreign country as quickly as they could to attend this wedding and Alfred only had close relatives attend the ceremony. Everything had been all rushed, but in the end, the love they had for each other was what mattered the most.

The entire night they danced. The Belarusian was close to her newly wedded husband's arms while the American swayed his wife closely; taking in the memories of the very moment they shared.

Pictures were taken as well. Natalya's older sister was in charge of the photography and took as many photos as she could before the night came to an end, "These photos, you'll show your children one day and tell them that as crazy as it is, love is very powerful," She would insist, while Alfred would choke in laughter and Natalya rolled her eyes before bringing up a glass of champagne to her lips.

To have children was something that didn't run across the two's mind at that very moment, though. For the first couple of weeks of marriage, the two made the necessary arrangements where Natalya would move to California with the other. Her work in Russia would be transported to the states, where she would work from home and if necessary, make the trips back to Moscow. At the same time, Alfred assisted Natalya with pursuing her second dream of opening up a wedding dress shop. He would do anything to help his wife succeed. The two of them were very occupied with pursuing their careers, but they both maintained a very well loving husband and wife relationship.

Their work came to a pause though the day Natalya announced her pregnancy to Alfred.

It all began where she didn't feel well. The first sign was nausea. She would spent most of her mornings in bed or the bathroom, where she would sit beside the toilet and let out the feelings that arose within her stomach. This would only happen after Alfred had left for his own work. She presumed it was a possible virus, until she discovered her cycle didn't arrive for that month. A trip to a nearby pharmacy and one test was enough for her to confirm the suspicions that hit her the second she glanced at a calendar.

Everyone was ecstatic. Whenever Alfred had the chance, he would brag amongst his friends about how he truly did have the perfect woman. His family was just as happy for him and expressed gratitude to the child that Natalya beared in her womb. Her own family… Not so much. It came as a shock to Natalya's siblings, but of course they came to accept the fate that their baby sister would be having a child.

Names were discussed, and even diapers and other baby purchases were made until the day of one of Natalya's early scans.

It was at just around eight weeks along that the couple learned they would be having twins.

Identical twins.

To Natalya, she was close to fainting right there and then on the examination table. Alfred was already shaking in excitement, calling every close friend they knew and even his brother to share the news. It made sense in the end, though. Alfred was a twin himself, so the likelihood of having twins was at a very high percentage.

Alas, while Natalya was very worried about what would come with her pregnancy now, her husband stayed by her side the entire way.

Around the eighteenth week mark, they went in once again for another scan. It was there that they learned their twins were two twin girls. The second the two went from not knowing what genders their babies would be to knowing Natalya was carrying two baby girls, their shopping trips became less baby neutral, and more pink.

The pink only came more when it came to Natalya's baby shower as well. It was then that had even more people than there were at the wedding. Multiple gifts were exchanged, games were played and even cake was consumed. It was also there that the couple announced the names they had decided to give their daughters.

Anneliese and Anastasia Jones.

As the weeks continued on, the more and more Natalya progressed in her pregnancy. Day by day she could feel movement from one of the girls and sometimes a hiccup or two here and there. The day the girls were born though, was one of the most stressful days she had experienced thus far in her lifetime.

It was a December morning when Natalya had woken up to soaked sheets on her and Alfred's shared bed. But instead of panic, all she did was wake Alfred up and bring awareness to the fact that her water had broken.

The Belarusian had never seen Alfred in such a panicked and anxious state before. It was the second she told him her water broke, chaos ensued. The man was up, helping her to his car, and making sure they had everything they needed before driving off to the hospital.

The labor process was a long, exhausting one. To Natalya, it almost felt like she was relieving the entire nine months of pregnancy all over again. But in the end, it was all worth it when she could hear the cries of the twin girls she had given birth to.

The birth of their twin girls was the best thing that they both considered to ever happen. Natalya was in a state of shock most of the time after birth considering that she managed to successfully deliver two babies, while Alfred was head over heels at the fact that the woman whom he loved gave birth to two more special additions to his life.

Life for the Jones' was perfect. The day Natalya returned from the hospital with the girls was the day that signified their first day of being parents. It was a difficult process to say the least, but she believed that she and Alfred had done well at working together to take care of twin babies that needed very high maintenance.

That was until one day, a horrific nightmare of Natalya's took place.

The twins were a few months old when the event occurred. Alfred had told Natalya he would be going out with a couple of friends to a bar. She didn't oppose since she trusted Alfred that he would make good choices. The day he went out was the day she also decided to go visit some friends of her own as well with the twins. It was almost an adult slumber party in this case, but most of the time her friends would gush over the twins and speak in amazement at how similar they looked. Anneliese was known to be quite energetic and babbled whenever she had the chance, while Anastasia was known to be quieter and clinging to her mother. The two had very similar features seeing that they were identical twins, but based on just personality, Natalya could tell who was who.

The day upon returning from the adult-slumber party, when she entered her and Alfred's shared home, it was a moment where she wished she could plunge her eyes out. Undergarments were scattered everywhere, the smell of alcohol met her nostrils… And by just entering the grand living room, her heart was shattered.

On the couch laid her husband with his arms wrapped around the body of another woman.

Natalya had never felt so betrayed and angered in her life before. That day was also the first time she ever threw a hairdryer at someone as well in hopes that it would possibly make them concussed. Her husband begged and begged over again for her forgiveness and blamed the alcohol for making him perform such a disgusting act. But with growing up with certain morals…

"Alcohol isn't a _fucking_ excuse for cheating," Were the words she spat at him in anger, "You _chose_ to drank. You _chose_ to break my heart. You _chose_ to lie to me and blame alcohol rather than admit to your own mistakes…." At that moment, Natalya already had began to gather her things from their bedroom. In her suitcase, she threw whatever clothes she could grab and other important valuables. For other items, she'd come pick up when she had the time.

"And for that, we're _done_."

* * *

Hello everyone!

The last time I posted a fanfic on was probably back in early 2010. Since then, I've been tending to real-life things, thus making me unable to write. During that period I also had lost significant interest with Hetalia and one of my biggest ships, AmeBel.

It wasn't until recently though that I had picked up on the (cursed) Hetalia train and decided to begin writing again.

As explained in the description, this story is a adaptation/parody of the 1998 version of "The Parent Trap". Of course, adjustments have been made to the story in order to accurately depict characters on how they would behave. Since this is a adaptation of the film, the names that I have selected for the twins were something that I believed fit well for "the daughters of America and Belarus". You'll see why as the story progresses more. There have been similar adaptations of this story with USUK or FrUk, but I decided that it would be fun to spice it up a bit and write an AmeBel one (for the AmeBel needs, lol).

The story itself is already finished and completed. I managed to type this story up within the span of three days and reached over 80k in words (Which I believe is the longest I've ever done for a fic!).

Anyway, I plan to upload the chapters when I have the availability too. But as I said, the story is already written and completed, so updates shouldn't be that long.

Thank you very much for reading and I hope you enjoy this AmeBel version of The Parent Trap. :)


	2. Ch 1: Camp Woodstein for Girls

**Chapter 1: Camp Woodstein for Girls**

It was the summer time in Maine. School break was initiated, families were off on vacation and kids were attending summer camp for the next three months. Thousands of children throughout the United States and even from Europe were attending summer camps that scattered all across Maine.

Camp Woodstein for girls was an all-girls sleepaway camp. Campers would spend eight weeks in cabins, participate in daily activities, and other fun events that would take place during the summer. Campers were between the ages of eight years old to even seventeen. Some have been attending the camp for years, while others would be attending for their very first year.

That was the case for eleven-year-old, Anneliese Jones.

Her shoulder-length, blonde hair had been pulled back halfway with a hair elastic. Her blue eyes were shielded by the sun with a pair of black sunglasses and her short frame wore some shorts and a blue t-shirt to keep herself cool from the summer heat. On her earlobes she wore earrings and wrists she had even more hair elastics in case she accidentally lost the one she was currently using.

As she wandered through the campgrounds, she couldn't help but feel the excitement build up in her. This was her first time experiencing an area completely outside of the California grounds she was born and raised in. Living in a vineyard was nice, but sometimes she wanted to explore the world outside of her home just a bit. Going to a sleepaway summer camp, by herself even, was the first step to experiencing it.

There was one thing that she needed to do first before heading to her cabin, and that was retrieving her belongings. She brought a large blue duffle bag, so when finding it in a pile nearby, she immediately made her way over to it.

"Okay, found my duffle!" She spoke to herself in a tone as if she were proud of herself. However, just before she went to reach for the bag, it was soon buried in even more bags. The girl stared in disbelief as she pushed her sunglasses to her head and crossed her arms, "Now the question is… How am I gonna get it out?"

Both of her hands managed to slip its way through small openings of the pile. Luckily, she was able to catch a grip of her duffle, but the more and more she pulled, the more she realized it was going to be a difficult process to take it out.

"Okay, I can do this…" Pull, pull, pull… "...Okayyyy…. No I can't-"

A frustrated sigh came from the girl's lips. First day of camp and already she was in a situation where she didn't know what to do. That was until…

"Hey! You new here?"

Almost instantaneously, it was almost as if her savior came by. A girl, most likely a year or two older than her approached her and placed a bag down. By the look on her face, it seemed as though she was holding back her laughter, but did so with knowing how difficult it was on move-in day for first years.

"How… uh…" Anneliese felt a nervous chuckle creep up her throat, "How could you tell?"

"Well," The girl crossed her arms and motioned to the pile of bags, "You don't know how to pull your duffle out of a bunch of bags. By just a couple of feet away, I can tell that you need serious help with it. I'm Margaret, by the way."

A sigh of relief came from Anneliese's lips. A savior to fulfill her role with helping her retrieve her bag. This was a sign that camp maybe would be a good start after all, "Thanks. I'm Anneliese, and my bag's the big blue one in there."

It was then that the two girls reached through the openings of the pile. This time with the strength of another girl, the two were able to pull the blue duffle out and place it on the ground. Anneliese could feel a smile form along her lips as she glanced over at Margaret and expressed her gratitude by thanking her again. But of course, the girl had questions for the first year.

"So, where are you from?" She asked, almost as if she were eager to know where the first year came from. This was expected, Anneliese thought. There were many girls from around the country that it was common for other campers to ask where others were from.

"California-"

"WAIT, seriously?!" Margaret had grabbed her own bag and began walking with the other towards the location of where the cabins were, "Do you like, live right next door to a movie star? Someone famous?" This made Anneliese laugh.

"What? No, are you crazy. I live in Northern California," She explained while trying to maintain her laughter. That was one thing she should probably expect here at camp. If a person were from California, they probably know someone famous, "I live in a vineyard."

"...A what yard?"

"A vineyard," Anneliese repeated herself; occasionally adjusting the strap of her duffle bag on her shoulder so it was easier to carry, "It's a place to grow grapes for wine. My dad and I live there together for his business."

As the girls walked more and more towards the cabins, something managed to catch Anneliese's eyes. It was something that a person would rarely see in Maine, especially in a girl's summer camp. It was a limousine! A real life one and the very first one she's personally ever seen in her entire life!

"Whoa, you think there's someone famous in there?"

"Whoever's in there probably has big bucks."

"I wanna see who it is!"

Chatter surrounded the area as Anneliese and Margaret continued to walk. Even though the two girls were engaged in their own conversation, they couldn't help but to also draw attention to the fact that there was a limo on the campgrounds in the first place.

"So uh…" To break the subject of what they had just seen, Anneliese turned to her newly founded friend and smiled, "Do you know how to play poker?"

"Poker?" Margaret questioned.

"Yeah! My dad and I play all the time," Excitement filled the girl's tone, "I can teach you if you'd like…"

As the girls continued walking, eventually they had left the scene of where the mysterious limousine resided. The chatter and groups that had formed around the limousine had died down as well and broke away, and it was there that the mysterious individual stepped out of the vehicle.

Two women in particular stepped out. One of them was a tall woman with short hair, a very busty chest and curved figure that wore a nice summer dress, a sunhat, and a very light jacket despite the summer heat being unbearing. A large smile formed along the woman's face, and soon she turned her attention to the door where her niece would be stepping out of.

"Oh, isn't it just beautiful here, Anastasia?" The woman spoke in her native tongue while holding out a hand, helping the other figure out from the vehicle.

White flats met the ground first as the eleven-year-old girl stepped out of the limousine. She grasped onto the older woman's hand now, followed by sitting up. The girl's blonde hair fell to her waist in length while half of it was pulled back with a ribbon and a hairband rested on the top of her head. She wore a dress herself, along with a jacket. As she looked around the scenery, she couldn't help but to fall in love with everything her blue eyes made contact with.

"It's amazing, tetya (aunt) Katya." The girl said in excitement; immediately letting go of her relative's hand before turning to the driver who was retrieving her belongings from the trunk. Anastasia had been just about to run off to explore the campus more, until her aunt had stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Not just yet, little one. Let's go over your mama's checklist for you, okay?" Katyusha explained as the girl turned her head and nodded in agreement to her statement, "I know your mama couldn't come because of work, but she did ask me to come with you to make sure you especially didn't forget anything… Now…" She cleared her throat and reached into her pocket to retrieve a small notebook that resided in it.

"School materials."

"Check."

"Vitamins."

"Check!"

"Daily list of fruits and vegetables…"

"Check, check!"

Katyusha looked at her niece with her brows risen in suspicion.

"Check for fruits…" Anastasia let out a small giggle of innocence. Like any child, she was picky with her fruits and vegetables, "Check for vegetables, go on." But of course, all her aunt did was shrug before resuming to read from the list.

"Sunbalm… Lipbalm…"

"Check, check!"

"Insect repellent…"

"Mhm…"

"And a picture of your mama, uncle Vanya, and loyal aunt, me."

"Got it all, I think," Anastasia thought for a moment before pausing, making sure there wasn't anything forgotten on her mother's list. The last thing she needed was to know that she forgot something, but with her mother's list, she was sure that she was fine.

"Ah… But one more thing," Katyusha's tone shifted as she _did_ remember something. This caught Anastasia's attention at first and she was about to question it, but the answer to her question was met the second she saw her aunt reach into her other pocket and pull out a new deck of playing cards, "Some playing cards from your uncle." She smiled and handed them to the child with a bit of a smirk, "As you know our family is very competitive, and I'm sure it would make him very happy to hear if his niece can beat a couple of weaklings here to a game of poker and show who a child of the Braginsky family really is."

This made Anastasia laugh, but she agreed to the statement and slid the cards into her pocket, "Alright, I will. Just for dyadya (uncle) Vanya."

A nod came from Katyusha in approval, until she realized this was the moment she dreaded the most. Saying goodbye. The woman was known to become very emotional… Hell, even at Anastasia's birth, she cried so much for her little sister - but for also herself knowing that she was officially an aunt.

Anastasia was very well aware of her aunt's sensitive emotions, so without a second thought she hugged her while the older woman practically squeezed the child in her arms.

"Now, in case you change your mind and want me to come here to pick you up…" The woman began, this only being a reminder that Anastasia would be traveling back to Moscow by herself once camp came to an end.

The girl looked up at her aunt and gave her a smile, "I won't. I promise I'll be okay,"

"Okay, Anastasia… But if you need anything, don't hesitate to let me or even your mama know." It was there that Katyusha cupped her niece's cheek and smiled, before placing a kiss upon her forehead and letting her go from the embrace. She knew the child wanted to go out and meet the other girls, so she knew the sooner she left, the easier it'd be to stop crying.

Katyusha walked over to the door of the limousine now and smiled once again, "I love you, Anastasia. Be a good girl."

"I love you too! And I will," Anastasia stood there with the same smile on her face as she watched her aunt climb into the vehicle. She stayed in place until the vehicle was gone, and once it was, began the journey to her own cabin where she would unpack and prepare herself for not only a fun summer…

... But one of the most life changing summers she's had in a very long time.


	3. Ch 2: Are they Twins?

**Chapter 2: Are they Twins?**

The first couple days of camp was exciting for both girls. Each of them had formed their little group of friends where they would attend activities together, go to meals, or even spend time during the evenings sharing horror stories or playing small pranks on each other.

The adjustment to camp for Anneliese was much more easier than she thought it'd be. With her outgoing personality, it wasn't hard for her to be known at the camp as the energetic and exciting one.

For Anastasia and having a very quiet personality, it was different. She was very shy at first amongst speaking to new people, but as she opened up, more people became interested to know her more and more seeing that she was the first girl to come from Russia to attend a summer camp in the states.

Today was a regular day of activities for the camp. All the girls who attend the activities they selected to sign up for. In this case, Anastasia had signed up for tennis with her newly founded friends, while Anneliese decided to try fencing.

Breakfast time was the most chaotic time for the camp. All of the girls are just waking up and are full of energy; ready to stuff their bellies with food to fill themselves up with the necessary energy to get through the day. Both Anneliese and Anastasia the second they woke up, were absolutely starving.

Within the mess hall, there were two lines that would lead to one table where the food resided. In this case, Anneliese had taken the line on the right, while Anastasia took the line on the left. The two were distracted by their own surroundings with other girls chattering about their excitement for the day, that they weren't even paying attention to the camp counselor that stood in between them as they retrieved their breakfast.

"Excuse me girls, don't mind me…" The counselor began as she reached for a plate and proceeded to scoop some blueberries that was set out in a bowl in front of them, "I just have to get some of these gorgeous blueberries." After a couple of scoops, she turned to the right where Anneliese stood with her own plate, "Would you like some, dear?"

"Oh… Sorry, I can't," She responded as she reached for a piece of bread and an orange instead, "I'm allergic."

"Aw, that's too bad," The counselor responded before turning to her left. By this time Anneliese already left with her small group of friends to retrieve a table. Regardless, the camp counselor proceeded to turn to the left where Anastasia was now retrieving a banana and some bread for herself, "What about you, dear? Would you like so?"

"Huh?" The quieter girl spoke in her usual heavy accent, before glancing over at the blueberries and shaking her head, "I'm very sorry ma'am, I'm allergic to blueberries." She explained and turned away to go sit at a table.

"Yes… Allergic, wait-" The camp counselor paused, then looked at the right of herself, "But weren't you just, there-" She turned back to the left, and it was there that she realized both girls were gone. She stood there in disbelief for a moment and rubbed her forehead.

"I'm getting old."

Breakfast came to an end after an hour, thus signaling the beginning of activities. The two girls went off and attended their own activities.

Anneliese engaged in a couple of fencing matches against other campers, where she managed to succeed in all. It was her first time participating in a fencing activity as well, but with having a good background in most sports it wasn't surprising that she managed to pick it up easily.

Anastasia participated in tennis for the day. Now, while she was more used to playing in more different sports such as ice skating with her mother and even an easier version of hockey occasionally with her uncle, she thoroughly enjoyed the game of tennis. She managed to win a couple of matches and after enjoying the experience, she planned on doing the activity again later this week.

The tennis activity came to an end much more sooner than it did for the fencing activity, thus meaning that Anastasia had a bit of free time to herself. She wandered along the campgrounds with her friends, talking about other activities they could possibly go to… Until something managed to catch their eyes.

"Alrighty!" The organizer of the fencing activity held up a girl's hand that was shielded by a mask, "Amazing job, kiddo! Once again, our undefeated champion from California has won again, ms. Anneliese Jones!"

Cheers and claps filled the surrounding area as Anneliese, still masked, approached the small audience that had gathered. She exchanged high fives with the members and laughed along with them in victory, while the activity organizer was writing down on her clipboard.

"Now c'mon ladies…" She began as she looked around, "Do we have a possible challenger to take on the undefeated?"

It was as if instinct told her to at that very moment to step up and approach the fencing grounds. Anastasia glanced at her friends and whispered about going over there, before turning towards the organizer with a gentle, innocent smile that would bring uncomfortableness easily to anyone, "I'll take a whack at it."

"Alrighttyyyyyyy-" The organizer motioned over to the extra fencing uniform that was laid out for Anastasia to put on, "It seems like we've got a challenger!"

Anneliese hadn't been paying attention at that very moment and instead focused on talking with her friends within the audience. Anastasia though, excitedly put on the uniform before pulling her long blonde locks of hair back with a hair elastic. Followed by this, she slipped her own protection mask on, before turning to face the organizer and opponent who had her back turned to her. Once the organizer had announced the said challenger was ready, Anneliese slipped her own mask on, and turned to face her new opponent.

The two girls approached the center where they held their foils in the air. If the uniforms they each wore weren't different colors, the two opponents were so similar in height that with matching uniforms, it would almost seem as if they were fighting with themselves.

"You two ready?" The organizer began as she made eye contact with each girl.

"Yup!" Anneliese felt a large grin form along her shielded lips.

"All set!" Anastasia firmed her grip before holding out her foil.

" _En garde_ …. Fence!"

Almost instantaneous, Anneliese began moving her foil and clashed against Anastasia's. Anastasia held her sword out and didn't move it from the air, but she did back up with her feet the more and more her opponent came closer to her. It had even gotten to a point where she was backed up to a tree; her back crashing against and it was there she realized she was in trouble. A larger grin formed along Anneliese's current grin as she went for the hit on the chest, but quickly Anastasia gasped and turned away so Anneliese's hit met the tree.

From the tree, Anastasia traveled behind Anneliese where she was about to take a hit, but of course Anneliese turned quickly enough so her foil could meet the other's. The two clashed foils for a minute or so while Anastasia occasionally would make a dodge and Anneliese would consistently try to go for the hit.

The more the girls moved around the field, the more they were leaving the fencing grounds. This had made the organizer and even audience follow to watch the intense match, that now had ended up the stairs of a cabin where the two girls were still at each other's throats.

Stand-byers would move out of the way as the girls moved along the porch of the cabin, either laughing or gasping at how intense the battle had turned into. However, the battle turned tables the second Anneliese found herself cornered.

This was Anastasia's opportunity now. Before Anneliese had the chance to dodge or block herself, she made the direct move where the tip of her foil would meet her opponent's chest, "Touch!"

What Anastasia didn't realize was the impact of her touch was enough to push Anneliese down the side of the cabin. A loud scream ensued from the girl as she fell and landed into a large container of water that was set beside the cabin. Loud splashes came from below her and Anastasia gasped.

"I'm so sorry!" She dropped her foil and reached over the ledge to help her opponent. With her hand held out, she reached towards her now soaked opponent, "Here, let me help you-"

" _No,"_ Anneliese's tone was dark now. Without even a second thought, she reached for Anastasia's hand with a firm grip. By her sudden anger, it was clear that she was not happy about the situation, "Let me help _you_!"

With a pull, Anneliese pulled the girl over the ledge. Anastasia shrieked as she landed into the water and became just as soaked as her opponent.

"What was that for!?" Anastasia gasped in anger.

Anneliese scoffed as she stood up and climbed out of the water, "You pushed me in!"

"I didn't mean to!" Anastasia climbed out of the water with her arms crossed, "It was a game! I tried to help you afterwards and said sorry!"

"Alright ladies, calm down," The activity organizer approached the two girls who were now facing each other with their backs. Anneliese was in the process of wringing out her gloves, while Anastasia was removing her mask and squeezing the water out of her uniform's chest, "Well, before we get into anything," The organizer continued as she turned to the audience, "Our undefeated champion has been defeated! Everyone give a big applause to our official new camp champion from Moscow, Russia - Ms. Anastasia Arlovskaya-Jones!"

Cheers filled the surrounding area, but both girls refused to look at each other. With masks off and arms crossed, Anneliese gave an eyeroll hearing the cheers while Anastasia simply had a smile on her lips.

"Now, come on ladies." The organizer reached over to touch the girls' shoulders, "Shake hands. It was a good match, come on now."

With both releasing a heavy sigh, it was there that the two turned around. Almost immediately, cheers from the audience turned into gasps, the activity organizer could feel her jaw lower, and the two girls immediately froze in place.

Anneliese could feel her jaw hit the ground as the seconds passed upon making eye contact with a girl who looked _exactly_ like her. The hair length may have been different, yes, but it was as if she were looking into a mirror. At that very moment as well, Anastasia swore she could feel her eyeballs coming out of her head. The girl who pulled her into the water… It was her twin! The same face shape, nose, hair color, eye color, and even pale complexion that she swore only people from Europe had with a small amount of freckles on the nose… She didn't just win a match against anyone - it was herself!

As the two girls held a hand to each other for a shake, a gasp was made by the both of them. To Anneliese, she was shocked to see a girl who also had a similar hand shape to hers. Anastasia, well, she heard that out of the billions of people that were in their world, a person would have at least one look alike. Was this moment, fate?

"Holy…"

"Are they twins?"

"They look so much alike!"

Anastasia pulled her hand back and turned away at this point. She felt her face redden a bit in embarrassment. One thing she didn't like was to have a bunch of attention focused at her, but of course it was Anneliese who broke the silence.

"So uh, why's everyone starin'?" Anneliese began, her brows risen at her look-alike while arms remained crossed in interest. What she was more interested was to see how the shyer girl would react to this.

To Anastasia, she could feel her jaw even drop now. Was this girl serious right now? "Don't you see it?"

"See what?"

"The resemblance between us…" Anastasia leaned forward to Anneliese, who immediately leaned back. Anneliese refused to admit how nervous she was at that moment, so she stood her guard and examined her look-alike.

Laughter came from Anneliese, "The resemblance between…" She motioned her hands to herself, then to the other, "You and me?"

"Yes!" Anastasia nodded quickly.

"Let me see… Turn sideways." This was a very odd request, but alas, Anastasia followed it. She blinked for a moment before turning to her side. It was there that it was revealed her hair length was much more longer than Anneliese's, but Anneliese had something else in mind, "Mhm, I see, I see… Why, your hair length is different."

"That doesn't mean anything." Anastasia turned around and felt her eyes narrow a bit, now crossing her arms. She was officially becoming annoyed at the other.

"Wellll…" Anneliese took a step forward and glanced closer at the other's face, "Your eyes are a bit out of proportion…" Anastasia immediately blinked in confusion upon hearing this. Was she judging her based on her appearance? "Ears are a bit smaller than mine, but don't worry dear, you'll grow into them… Teeth a bit crooked, and nose well, honey, that's why surgery exists."

" _Excuse me!?_ "

"Oh wait, I'm not done yet," Anneliese could feel a grin form along her lips, before she slipped on her gloves again that were now dry after being wrung out a couple of times, "Do you want to know the _real_ difference between us?"

Now, Anastasia was angry. She placed her mask down and approached the other again, this time at her toes to establish who was the dominant one in this fight, "Oh, I definitely know the big difference… Is it that I know how to fence, and you don't?" She snickered, "Or, is it that I have better class than you? Take your pick."

Anneliese's facial expression darkened and could feel her hands form into fists, "Why I oughta…!"

"LADIES, please!" The organizer of the previous activity stood in between them, followed by turning her head towards Anneliese first, "Anastasia!" Then to Anastasia, "Anneliese! No, I mean…" She turned her head back again to Anneliese, "Anneliese, and then Anastasia-!" She held onto her head, now becoming confused over the extreme resemblance that the two girls indeed had with each other.

"I mean… Whoa."


	4. Ch 3: The Prank Wars Begin

**Chapter 3: The Prank Wars Begin**

Since their encounter, the big gossip of the camp grounds had been how there had been two girls that were exactly alike. No one knew if it was the saying that everyone had an identical twin somewhere, or even that they're possibly related to each other.

Aside from this, the two girls didn't pay attention to this as much. Instead, they focused on their own individual activities. Anastasia avoided Anneliese as much as she could, while Anneliese would avoid Anastasia as much as she could. The two girls had nothing to exchange with each other after the big fencing match, but that didn't mean it would be the end of their encounters.

Word went around one evening that there was a cabin initiating a game of poker. The undefeated champion of the current games that were taking place, was Anastasia herself. She sat in her cabin with dollar bills lined up in front of her as she watched her opponents exclaim that she had to be cheating to win each time. But of course, she'd always respond with the same thing:

"It's called being a skilled player, sweetie."

As she prepared herself for the next game, Anastasia counted her bills. By this time she already had made fifty bucks from a couple of matches, which to her was exciting since she could brag about it to her uncle when she returned from camp.

"Any more takers?" She began as she slipped her bills into a pocket. Once they were put away, she looked around at the audience that had formed around her. No one had seemed to take on a game against her, because they knew each time she would always manage to win.

"Me."

The words met Anastasia's ears just as she was finishing to shuffle the cards. She looked up now, where the sound of the screen door was closing and foot steps were made. It was only a couple of seconds after the door closed that the Russian met the eyes of her look alike yet again.

It had been a couple of days since the fencing match had occurred. Word did spread about the poker games that was taking place that evening very quickly, so most likely Anneliese heard about it and wanted to take on the challenge. Or perhaps this was the opportunity where Anneliese wanted to get her revenge after the fencing match.

All of the girls around Anastasia turned to face her. There was a grin on the girl's lips, and instead of denying another game, she happily responded with, "Take a seat, Jones."

"Happily." Before taking a seat, Anneliese had reached into her pocket and pulled out a small hand bag. It was there that she poured out the contents of it, which was not only more dollar bills, but even currency from Russia. This caught Anastasia's attention as she looked over at the other, but she didn't say anything, "Deal me."

From there, Anastasia exchanged the playing cards with Anneliese, and the game began.

The two girls had their eyes focused on their cards in hand. Occasionally moves would be made along with the exchange of dollar bills in the middle of the table. Girls whispered among each other about how the current match was probably the most intense one out of the many that took place that evening.

Both girls were very skilled in the game. Anastasia's background came from playing with her uncle at a very young age and while her mother disapproved of it, she found excitement in it. Anneliese's was from her father, where they would play a match every Friday after supper in the dining room. What the two girls didn't know was that the intense origin of the game in each of their families came from the ones who taught them; frequently playing against each other prior to their birth.

After half-an-hour or so, the silence of the intense match was broken by Anneliese clearing her throat.

"I have a proposition for you," She began as she looked at the other; a devilish grin forming along her lips.

"Mm…?"

"Loser has to jump into the lake after the game." This made the surrounding girls gasp in shock and look at each other. To Anastasia, all she did was glance back down at her cards and feel a grin of her own form along her lips.

"Excellent," She agreed. But, Anneliese wasn't finished speaking.

"...butt naked."

Anastasia's grin developed into a full smirk. The Russian girl sat up in her seat now and adjusted her position - this revealing how much more in favor she was of the idea, "Even more excellent! So, start sharing with the class, Jones…" Once she organized her cards, she lined them up in front of the other. This made all the girls gasp in shock upon what was revealed.

"Straight, in diamonds." Anastasia snickered; her arms crossed as she waited for Anneliese to reveal her cards. There was no way that her opponent would win this time. She was dealing with the undefeated champion, so there was no possible way.

"Interesting… You're really good, Arlovskaya." Anneliese began to reveal her cards now, "But, just not good _enough_."

 _No._

Upon her sight, Anastasia's eyes immediately met Anneliese's as she turned her cards to reveal to her opponent and their audience. If she wasn't sitting up, Anastasia would have probably fainted at that point. All the girls began giggling now seeing the line-up of cards that immediately defeated the undefeated champion of the game.

"In your honor," Anneliese leaned forward to Anastasia as she spoke in a fake, Russian accent, "A royal match."

A deal was a deal. Anastasia lost the match against her look alike fair and square. That moment to her was the most embarrassing one she's had in years. And she thought it was embarrassing whenever her uncle beat her at the game!

The laughter that came from outside the cabin as she stepped outside with no garments covering her bare body. The look alikes, along with the campers that attended the game all ran towards the docks that was nearby. Anastasia felt goosebumps as she walked along the dock now; face reddened and arms wrapped around her chest in extreme embarrassment.

Before taking the jump, she took in a deep breath and turned her attention over to Anneliese who held a flashlight and had a large smirk on her face. With a nod exchanged to each other, Anastasia turned around and made the jump into the lake. The sound of splashes could be heard by the girls, along with loud giggles, "Someone snatch her clothes!" Anneliese whispered as she ran off with the crowd and the only garments Anastasia brought with her so she could return to her cabin; leaving the loser of the match sitting in the water in disbelief.

"Hey, wait!" Anastasia called out as she ran out of the water. By the time they were gone, she was left with only her flip-flops and nothing to shield her bare body from the scene. She stomped in anger and crossed her arms again.

"If this is the way it has to be…" She spoke in her mother tongue before glancing over at the girls from a distance, who had stopped running to catch their breath from laughing, "Then let the games begin."

The very next day was when Anastasia initiate her plan of revenge. Anneliese was not going to get away with first of all, beating her at a game of poker, and then snatching her clothes after agreeing to a bet.

After breakfast, Anastasia had a bit of time before her activities. She had managed to reel her friends into the plan, which was to break into Anneliese's cabin and move some of their belongings. It would be a difficult task since it was broad daylight, but she believed they could do it.

Anastasia and her two accomplances stood outside the cabin and peeked through a window, waiting patiently for Anneliese to leave the scene. If there was one thing Anastasia knew for sure, it was that the American began her activities an hour before she did, so she had plenty of time to initiate the 'sabotage Anneliese's bed revenge plan' successfully. Once she was gone, the girls immediately snuck into the cabin.

It took three trips to take all of Anneliese's stuff out of the cabin. First there was the bed, then her trunk, and her stuffed animals that she had brought along to Maine. They set the bed beside the cabin and made the bed, so when Anneliese returned from her activities she could go straight to bed to rest before lunch. To finish off the plan, Anastasia had draped a Russian flag over the blankets, before scurrying off with her friends laughter with succeeding in their plan.

"I am SO tired," Anneliese began as she was resting on top of Margaret's back. The two girls had returned an hour or so later after Anastasia's sabotage from their morning activity of basketball. Anneliese was drenched in sweat, had her shoulder-length hair pulled back into a high ponytail and every few seconds she would take a sip out of her water bottle, "I am getting back into bed and sleeping until the lunch bell, 'cause I can't even feel my legs…"

It was there that Margaret stopped walking and let Anneliese slide down her back. With confusion, Anneliese looked over at Margaret at why she had stopped carrying her. One thing she did notice though was the look on her face, "I don't think sleeping is going to happen, Anneliese."

"Huh?" Anneliese stepped in front of the other, now even more confused, "Why not?" Instead of even answering the question, all Margaret had done was point ahead to where her eyes had made contact with Anneliese's belongings set outside.

"... _That's_ why not."

The second Anneliese turned around, she could feel her eyes widen in shock. After a few seconds or so, her shock had transitioned into anger as she took a step forward and assessed the situation. By just taking one glance at her bed with the Russian flag draped upon it, she could feel her teeth grind.

" _No way_."

If Anastasia believed she would be getting away with her little trick that easily, Anneliese planned to prove her wrong. Instead of getting her wanted rest, she spent the next hour with Margaret bringing her belongings back inside the cabin. It was there that she discussed with Margaret how to get back at Anastasia for even doing such a thing in the first place.

To Anastasia, the battle of the games began after Anneliese decided to step through her door and challenge her to the a game of poker. What added fuel to the ongoing fire was the fact that Anneliese had the guts to even steal Anastasia's clothes after she agreed to the bet of jumping into the lake. Anastasia refused to allow Anneliese to get away with this, just as Anneliese refused to allow Anastasia to get away.

Margaret and Anneliese devised the plan of revenge. This would take place after hours to reduce the chance of getting caught by one of the camp counselors. What they decided was to set up a train of booby all throughout Anastasia's cabin, Not just around her bed, but for all of her cabin mates. That way, the ones who were affiliated with Anastasia could know that they shouldn't be seeing that they would be pulled into the trouble she put herself through.

The two girls began with tying string around the cabin so it would be difficult to walk through. Followed by this, Annaliese had opened up cans of molasses she found in a nearby shed into a large bucket to set up a trap over the door while Margaret poured honey over one sleeping girl, slime around Anastasia's bed, and even set up fake spiders over one girl's bed so she would wake up startled.

Once the paint booby trap was set, Anastasia moved along with taking the feathers of two pillows and setting them over the fan. That way when a person were to turn on the fan, feathers would be flown everywhere. The fun part for her though was filling up the water balloons she had stolen from the swimming shed. She had them aligned over Anastasia's bed, so that way if she tripped over one of the strings, that would release the balloons to all fall on her.

The process of setting up all of the booby traps took about three hours to do so, but in the end, it was worth it to Margaret and Anneliese. This for sure would be one of the best stories to share about camp once they returned home at the end of the summer. Once finished, the girls proceeded with sneaking out of the cabin and returning to their own cabins to get rest.

The following morning came by rather quickly. Annaliese and Margaret had agreed to meet up an hour before the morning bell, that way they would have time to sneak over to Anastasia's cabin and watch the chaos unfold. They stood beside a large window that was covered by a screen, and with their eyes peeking into the room, they prepared themselves for what would ensue.

Anastasia was the first to wake up when the morning bell's sound traveled around the camp. She woke up with a small yawn to herself and blinked a couple of times, before her eyes met the sight of the strings that covered the room. Almost immediately, she laid up from her bed in astonishment on what exactly happened the previous night. That cabin certainly wasn't in this state when she went to bed!

Silently, she slid off the side of her bed. The second her feet made contact with the ground was also the moment where it made contact with a stinky substance on the ground.

And thus, the shrieks and screams ensued.

Anastasia began screaming as she panicked at what the sticky substance that covered her feet. The sleeping girls beside her woke up from her screams and only began screaming themselves upon seeing their current states. A girl had shaving cream on her head and shirt, another was drenched in honey, and another was shrieking at the sight of fake spiders falling on top of her upon waking up.

Outside the cabin, both Anneliese and Margaret were in laughter. Anneliese's face became so red as she laughed; finding everyone's reactions to the pranks being absolutely hilarious. What caught her attention the most though, was when Anastasia finally set off the water balloon booby trap.

A shriek came from Anastasia as the first water balloon hit her feet. Followed by this, she jumped at the second one, and third one. For one thing, she had been relieved that her feet were now free from the sticky substance, but unfortunately that wasn't the end.

" _She_ didn't get me…" Anastasia sighed in relief as she looked around the chaos scene in front of her, "Hmph!"

It was then that she heard it. The sound of water moving around above her. All it took her was to glance up once to make eye contact with the sight of a large water balloon about to hit her very frame. With a loud shriek, she covered her face as it landed and drenched her from head to toe. By the sounds of laughter that came outside the cabin, it was enough for Anastasia to confirm her suspicions on who exactly set up the traps in the first place.

"That girl, without a doubt…" She looked around; bangs shielding her eyes from how soaked she was as she tried to locate where the laughter was coming from, "Is the most awful creature that has ever walked on this planet!"

Anneliese tried to catch her breath as she looked over at Margaret, embracing the insult that was made by her look alike, "Thank you, thank you very much." She slapped her thighs a couple of times now, before her laughter was silenced upon hearing the footsteps of camp counselors making their way towards the cabin.

"Good morning, ladies!" One called out to Anastasia's cabin as they approached the porch and were about to make their way up the steps, "Surprise inspection today! I hope you all have been keeping thing tidy in the cabins!"

Anneliese felt her eyes widen upon hearing the words 'cabin inspection'. That was the last thing she needed for her plans to immediately fall apart! Without letting another second pass, the American quickly ran to the door of the cabin and blocked the entryway for the counselors.

"What are you doing dear?" The counselor asked as she stared at the child in front of her. When being asked the question, Anneliese found her eyes draw upwards to where a large bucket had been being held by some rope. It was the trap she set up with the molasses the previous knight. The trap for this door was that the second someone were to open the door, the molasses would come pouring down. If the camp counselors were to see that she was responsible for causing not only the chaos in the room but for the trap they could possibly walk into, then she would be in big trouble.

Anneliese panicked and tried to come up with a compromise, "Uhh… Everyone's sick! Very, very sick in the room and it's an absolute mess," She answered as quickly as she could. It was a terrible lie, but maybe it would work? She didn't know, "I'm protecting you from going inside. I wouldn't want my camp counselors to get as sick as the girls insid-"

" _Actually_ ," A familiar face popped up on the window beside the door. Anneliese could feel her face go white upon making eye contact with her look alike standing there with a simple smile to her face. That smile seemed innocent, but to her it was Anastasia already getting back at her for pulling the pranks in the first place, "We're all fine in here. Really," It was there that she noticed Anneliese looking up. This caught her attention, and soon Anastasia was looking up to see the large bucket that resided above the camp counselors. So _that_ 's why Anneliese didn't want them to come inside, "Open the door and see for yourself, ma'am."

The camp counselors looked at each other now, before turning to face Anneliese and move her way from the door, "Move aside, dear." One of them spoke and reached for the handle of the door.

It took less than five seconds until the molasses had been pouring from the bucket after opening the door. The first camp counselor shrieked as she was drenched, followed by stumbling inside the cabin and the second counselor becoming drenched. Already, Anastasia was trying to hold back her laughter as she stared at Anneliese who looked like she had been laying on her deathbed.

The counselors shrieked as they stumbled and slid down the walkway of the room. The girls who previously had been screaming had now all silenced and were gasping at the sight of their counselors falling for the traps too. What Anneliese prayed for at that moment was that they wouldn't pull the final trap, but alas, karma was indeed biting her in the arse for this.

The second she saw one of the counselors reach for a rope to be pulled up from the ground, that was enough to pull the trap, "No, don't pull that!" Anneliese shouted, but it had been too later.

The fans in the room had turned on. Within seconds, feathers from pillows had flown everywhere and covered the room in white. Girls in the room were giggling now, finding this indeed a bit funny. Anneliese was bracing herself for the upcoming punishment that was about to hit her, and Anastasia… Well, she stood there the entire time with her arms crossed in annoyance. Hopefully after today, this would be the last of these pranks.

"See… I uh…" Anneliese's tone was nervous, "I told you it was a bit of a mess in here…" By the way she was behaving, it was enough to reveal that she was ashamed for letting her anger get the best of her. What motivated her was revenge, but truthfully, she was starting to regret the proposal she made to Anastasia during the game of poker.

"She should know!" Anastasia immediately stood in front of Anneliese with anger filled in her eyes. The Russian girl was angry, and rightfully so. The prank she pulled on Anneliese was nowhere near the levels of a prank she did on her, " _She_ made this happen!-"

"ENOUGH!" One of the camp counselors snapped at the two girls once retaining her composure. She stood up from the ground; drenched in molasses and pillow feathers as she looked around the cabin, the back to the look alikes. "You-" She pointed at Anneliese, "And you-!" Her attention turned to Anastasia. The two girls looked at each other in shock seeing that the counselor was pinning the mess on the both of them.

"Pack your bags!"


	5. Ch 4: The Isolation Cabin & the Truth

**Chapter 4: The Isolation Cabin and the Truth**

Around the third week of camp, all of the campers and counselors would be transferring to another campgrounds to spend the remaining five weeks on. This way, campers would have the opportunities to participate in other activities that weren't available at the other camp.

Unfortunately for Anneliese and Anastasia, that wouldn't be the case. As they hiked with the rest of their fellow camp peers, the two girls were forced to stay in the front where the counselors could have a good eye on them.

When it came to the punishment, there was no talking out of it, especially since Anastasia wasn't the one who participated in the large prank by Anneliese in the first place. In the end, she simply accepted the terms and didn't question it further. After all, the last thing she needed was for them to call her mother and tell her fake lies of what happened during her time at camp.

The hike itself to the other camp was about an hour or so. It was a good hike, at least Anneliese thought. It was a good time for her to think about her morals and how she truly did mess up when it came to the whole rivalry thing. She didn't know if she should apologize to Anastasia, thus she remained quiet for the majority of the trip. She would only answer to counselors when they spoke to her about certain things. Other than that, the trip to the other camp was more of her learning from her mistakes.

"Halt." The leader of the camp counselors turned to the crowd of girls that had been lined up behind them. She cleared her throat and proceeded to shout in a loud tone, "Okay ladies! Thank you for a smooth transition! Please go to your new assigned cabins to unpack and you may return to your daily activities. Thank you!"

Anneliese and Anastasia stood there in silence as all of the girls behind them proceeded to cheer in excitement about the new activities that were in store. There would be no activities for them for the upcoming week, seeing that they were punished until the end of camp.

"You two…" The leader now turned her attention to the girls, before pointing over to a cabin that was up a couple flight of stairs, "The isolation cabin until the end of camp. You may return to your activities in one week from now." She ordered before watching the two make their way up to their new home for the remainder of the summer.

The isolation cabin was one where usually campers are settled away from the other cabins, that way whatever mischief they proceeded with wouldn't bring any effect to the other campers. Upon entering the cabin, Anastasia didn't find it bad. It had a lot of space enough for the two of them and with being a quiet person, she didn't mind. What did worry her though was exactly how loud Anneliese would be. She seemed like the type of person to enjoy blasting music or make a lot of noise in general… Well, she may as well find out as time went on.

To her surprise, sound wasn't the issue she had with Anneliese at all. The two rarely communicated with each other. When they both were inside the cabin, there was silence. No words were exchanged.

There were moments though where the two would indeed pick at each other. In particular, there was one evening where Anneliese was trying to go to sleep, but Anastasia had been awake finishing her studies. One thing that the American didn't understand was how people in Europe would have schoolwork to do during the break. To her, it was ridiculous.

Whenever she had the chance, she would turn all the lights off in the cabin as an indicator that she wished to go to sleep. This didn't slide so easily with Anastasia. Instead of calling Anneliese out on it, she would stand up, and turn the light right back on. The light was consistently turned on and off by the girls that night. Even though it was clear that Anastasia wished for the light to be on and Anneliese wanted the light to be off, they still would not exchange words with each other…

...Until one particularly rainy day.

Anneliese had still been unpacking since their move to the isolation cabin. Anastasia had unpacked on the same day they moved in due to not wanting it to be a worry, but Anneliese was the type of individual to unpack a little day by day.

On this day, she had been putting up some posters of her favorite pop stars like any pre-teen her age would do. She also made sure to put some images of her home back in California, that way despite being hundreds of miles away from home, she still could remember what it looked like so it wouldn't be as much of a culture shock when returning. She hummed to herself a small tune as she proceeded with putting the images up until the wind from outside began to pick up.

As the wind hit the side of the cabin, the window that was open beside her made all of the images fly around the room. Anneliese gasped in panic as she quickly tried to close the window so no more of her images would be any further ruined.

Anastasia watched the scene play out from her bed. She had been currently reading a book to herself since it was what she preferred doing on rainy days. Sometimes she didn't understand why people would hang up images of people they didn't know, but they seemed to be very important to Anneliese. So out of the goodness of her heart, Anastasia stood up from her bed and rushed over to the other girl who struggled to close the window.

"Oh gosh, it's stuck-!" Anastasia began as she helped the other attempt to close the window. With the strength of two girls though, they were able to successfully do so after a minute. A sigh of relief escaped Anastasia's lips once the window as closed, but Anneliese… Was silent. She was surprised to see the girl, despite putting her into the current situation they were in the first place, would have the audacity to help her.

Either way, the silence had to be broken now. Anastasia could have just sat back and watched the scene play out. But instead, she decided to help her cabin mate out with protecting her possessions, "Thanks." Anneliese began as she looked at the other with a relieved smile.

"You're welcome…" Anastasia's tone was quiet, but how was she supposed to react? Just a couple of days ago the two look-alikes were at each other's throats. Yet, there they were helping each other out. She remained silent as she watched Anneliese make her way down to the ground and begin picking up the images that had scattered across the cabin due to the wind, "Were uh… any of them ruined?"

Anneliese looked up at the other from the ground with her brows risen. To her, it wasn't that she was shocked that Anastasia was asking about the state of her images… It was more of, she was amused that the other had expressed concern for the first time, "Not really." She answered as she watched the other girl make her way down to the ground and help her pick up the items. Anastasia was careful whenever she picked up an image, and when she did she handed it to the other who made a small pile out of it.

One item in particular though did manage to catch her attention. It was a stuffed polar bear - almost similar to the ones a person would see years ago that kids would play with. Anastasia presumed it was the other's, so gently she picked up the item and handed it over, "Here's your…?"

"Kumajirou," Anneliese smiled as she took the stuffed animal and rested it on her bed once more. Anastasia had a confused expression on her face upon hearing the name, since she had never heard of a more interesting name than that one before, "Weird name, right?" Anastasia nodded at the other's words. At least she had a reason to be confused now, "It was a gift from my uncle Matt from when I was younger. He said it was his and my dad's when they were younger, and they got the name from an anime they watched as kids."

"I see…" Anastasia sat up now, a bit weirded out by the name… But of course, what right did she have to judge? She grew up in a Russian household, so naturally things that she considered weird would be completely normal to probably an American perspective such as Anneliese's.

Eventually, Annaliese had successfully been able to put together her wall of actors. Anastasia watched this play out from her bed once again, but she didn't question it. What did catch her attention though, was when the other approached her a couple of minutes later while holding out a container of oreos.

"Want some?" Anneliese began with already two in her mouth. This made Anastasia gag on the inside, but of course, she didn't refuse.

Anastasia gave the other a small nod as she reached for two, "Thanks… I haven't had these in years. You'd think in Russia they would have them, and they do… But it's the vanilla ones."

"That's the worse kind!" Anneliese gasped in horror.

"I know, right?" Anastasia nodded in agreement before looking down at the cookie in her hands. It was then that she chuckled softly at a random thought while Anneliese had returned to her trunk to retrieve another item, "Sometimes when I do have them at home though… I.. It's kind of weird - I like to eat them with peanut butter."

"No. Way." It was as if on cue that when Anneliese stood up, she had been holding a jar of peanut butter that was opened and already she had dipped her own oreo cookie into it. "So do I!"

A gasp came from Anastasia as she leaned forward. To see this was truly shocking since a lot of people thought the idea of peanut butter and oreos as gross! But to her, she absolutely loved it, "You're kidding! Everyone tells me it's gross and all I tell them is that they're stuck in the old days."

"Wiser words have never been said until now," Anneliese found herself in gentle laughter that was added on by Anastasia's own laughter. Once settled down from both of their mini laughing fits, Anneliese looked at her look alike once again before taking a bite out of her cookie and swallowing, "How old are you?"

Anastasia looked up now upon hearing the question. It was a very sudden one indeed, but it was one that she didn't mind answering, "I'll be turning twelve on December 11th." She responded before taking another bite out of her cookie.

Coughing then ensued from Anneliese as she heard this. She managed to catch herself before she choked, but once she did calm down she found herself moving closer to Anastasia in shock, "So will I!"

Anastasia's eyes widened, "Your birthday is on December 11th?"

"Yeah!"

"How weird is that…" Anastasia finished her cookies now before resting her head against the palm of her hand. She knew that it was common for people to share birthdays, but a shared birthday with not only Anneliese, but a girl who looks exactly like her? It… Was starting to become a bit freaky.

"Totally freaky." Anneliese agreed with the other, and soon she found herself reaching for another cookie, "So, what's your dad like? I only live with my dad and uncle, and sometimes my grandpop visits, but I'm sure your dad is pretty cool with being Russian and all."

Anastasia hesitated when hearing these words. Her father… Well, it was a bit of a difficult situation for her to explain, but she would be honest, "I don't have one- Wait no, let me reword that. I mean, I had one, I suppose…" She looked down at her hands before resting them on her lap, "But my parents divorced years ago. My mama rarely talks about him, and when she does it seems like memories she doesn't want to touch."

"It's scary the way nobody stays together anymore," Anneliese commented once swallowing her last cookie. One thing that she did have was that she had a very big appetite. It was something that she got from her father, seeing that she ate a lot whenever given the opportunity, "My dad got divorced years ago too. All I know about my mom was that she was from Europe and was very beautiful and talented," She rested her head against the wall, "I do have some of her belongings with me and a picture though. My dad always saw me going through his sock drawer and looking at it, so he just gave it to me because it brought too many sad memories for him."

The entire time the Russian girl listened to the other's story, she couldn't help but think for a moment. It was truly interesting to hear the perspective of another child that had a divorced parent, but something was clicking even more inside her. She didn't want to comment on anything such as if the other knew what her mother looked like, but she would at the right moment.

"Oh hey, it stopped raining." Anneliese stood up and glanced out the window. A terrible rainstorm had turned into a beautiful, sunny day once again. As expected from the weather in Maine, she couldn't help but think to herself. But in all truths, Anneliese was distracting herself from the fact that Anastasia had admitted to her about being a child of a divorced parent too. Situations such as that were very sad, yes, but she was thinking of something completely different, "Do you want to go grab a lemonade or something?"

Would you stop thinking about your stomach for just a second, Anastasia wanted to ask the other at that very moment. With the current situation that had risen, it was something that couldn't be just brushed off with a glass of lemonade. No no, Anastasia wanted to see if her curiosity was being correct.

"You said you have an image of your mother, right?" Anastasia sat up from her seat while Anneliese at this point had already begun to put on her shoes without even giving a chance for the other to answer if she wanted to come or not.

"Mhm, I do," Anneliese said while sliding on a light sweater, "But listen, I'm really thirsty, You sure you don't want to go get a drink from the mess hall or something?"

"Wait, before you get your drink, just think for a second," Anastasia insisted and approached the center of the cabin. It was there that the girl began pacing back and forth in thought, trying to tie in the new information together so she could figure out what was peaking in her mind, "Don't you even realize what's happening?"

Anneliese, dumbfounded at the moment, bit down on her lower lip and shook her head innocently.

"I mean, think about it!" Anastasia turned to face her after pacing across the room one last time. Now she was sure this was the right moment to pop up the question, "I only have a mother, and you only have a father. You've never seen your mom, and I've never seen my dad…"

"And?"

Anastasia gestured over to Anneliese this time, "You have one old picture of your mom, and I have one old picture of my dad…" This statement definitely caught Anneliese's attention. It was there that in the middle of her explanation that the American made her way to her trunk and quickly began rummaging through it for one specific item, "But, at least yours is a whole picture." Anastasia continued, "Mine is this pathetic little thing all crinkled and ripped right down the middle and…"

She stopped in place upon seeing Anneliese now standing in front of her with a piece of paper on her chest. It had been facing its back so the true image in front of it was hidden, which made Anastasia freeze.

"This…" Anneliese looked at the item in her arms before shifting her focus back to Anastasia, "Is the picture of my mom… And it's ripped too."

"...Right down the middle?"

"Right down the middle."

It took Anastasia less than a second or so to turn her back away from the other and quickly run over to her nightstand. She opened up the drawer that connected to it and reached inside where another container resided it. Instead, it held most of her American money, along with a similar item that Anneliese had in her own possession. She brought the item to her own chest, hidden, and turned around.

"This is so freaky." Anastasia spoke as she took in a deep breath. Based on the expression on both of the girls' faces, the two were just as nervous as anyone would be in a situation similar to theirs.

It was there that Anneliese took a couple steps forward to the other, where the distance between the two had been close enough so they could reveal the images together, "Okay… On the count of three, we'll show them to each other." She stated, to which Anastasia agreed to by nodding.

"One…" Anastasia started off.

"Two…" Anneliese continued the countdown.

"Three!"

Both girls flipped the images over and almost immediately they found themselves both in shock. Anastasia's face reddened out of instinct from being shock while Anneliese brought her image over to meet up the ripped point on the other's image. The two looked at each other now before returning their attention to the image.

The image of themselves had the date June 30th on the top, just about eleven years ago from their birth year. On the right had a man with blonde hair, glasses pushed up to his face while wearing a black tuxedo and looking into the eyes of the woman on the left. The woman had long blonde hair that had been pulled back halfway with a veil, violet-blue eyes meeting the man's lighter blue ones while she wore a wedding dress with it being tight around her frame and skirt consisting of multiple ruffles. The bottom of the image had been written as followed to confirm the girl's suspicions:

The wedding of Alfred Jones and Natalya Arlovskaya.

"That's my dad…" Anneliese began in a gasp; bringing the image closer to her face so she could have a better view of what was taking on in the image.

"And… that's my mama…" Anastasia couldn't help but to be shaking in not fear, but in absolute shock.

To the two girls, this was their first time seeing their parents together in the same image. They both found themselves focused on the way their parents looked at each other. Full of love, happiness, and joy all at that very moment.

Their moment of examining the image came to an end upon hearing the lunch bell go off outside. Anneliese and Anastasia now looked at each other in disbelief, unsure of what to say at that very moment.

"I'm… Not so thirsty anymore," Anneliese began in a lowered whisper and found herself wiping at her eyes. For years she imagined to have always been an only child between her father and mother, but that didn't seem to be the case any further.

It was the same boat for Anastasia as well. For the longest time, she only had her mother and her mother's siblings to be considered her only family. She never had any connection with her father, but to know that there was more to her father's family right in front of her… It was a dream come true.

"So… If… Your mom, is my mom…" Anneliese began in a shaky tone. The more she spoke, her shocked expression turned into more of a brighter one, "A-and my dad, is your dad… And we were both born on December 11th…"

"...Then, you and I are…" Anastasia choked on her breathing.

"We're… like sisters-!"

"Sisters?" Anastasia found herself laughing now; her sudden shaky state progressing into a more relaxed and happy one. It was there that she grabbed the other's shoulders, "Anneliese! We're like, twins!"

It wasn't long until the two were in a tight embrace. Anastasia could feel the smile on her face become even bigger and bigger as the seconds passed, while Anneliese couldn't stop her tears from making its way down her reddened cheeks. It was a moment of reuniting with long lost family after a decade, so to the eleven-year-old girls, it was a moment that they would never forget.

Upon releasing each other from the embrace, Anneliese found herself fiddling with a locket that was around her neck, "I just… I really don't know what to say," She sniffled to herself once she managed to calm herself from the situation. She wiped her eyes now, but after a moment she couldn't help but to notice the other had been staring at the item around her neck.

"What's that you're holding?" Anastasia asked, now leaning forward a bit to get a better look at it.

"A locket… I got it when I was born from my mom… _Our_ mom." Anneliese answered and glanced down at the item that she had been fiddling with in between her fingers, "It has an A on it and an image of mom holding me on the inside."

Anastasia found herself giggle a bit as she reached into the collar of her shirt to pull out the same exact locket that the other had around her neck, "I got mine when I was born too… It also has an A on it and an image of me and mama too."

It was there that the girls had been looking at the lockets now. They were both the exact same thing, but upon opening the lockets were indeed two different images. Anneliese's image with Natalya had been of her holding her as an infant in a rocking chair, while Anastasia's had been her being held while Natalya had been in a hospital bed. It was the same exact woman in the image, which was enough to confirm the image they had put together even more.

"I just… Can't believe it." Anneliese began as she looked at her twin now; wiping away her tears one last time before she examined the other, "I'm not an only child… I'm a twin - there's two of me… Two of us…! This is like…"

"Mind-blowing?"

"Exactly." Anneliese nodded with some laughter, "I just… Oh my god-" It was there and then that she couldn't help but to this time practically tackle her newly discovered sister in a tight hug. Anastasia happily returned the hug in favor of this before the tears, to which they both thought were gone, eventually returned.

That one rainy day that shifted into a beautiful sunny one, was the day that fate also decided that sisters would meet again after long last.


	6. Ch 5: The Proposal of The Switch

**Chapter 5: The Proposal of The Switch**

"Tell me, what's mom like?"

"Well…" Anastasia looked up towards the stars. The two girls had decided to go stargazing before having to go to bed. It was a good way to end the evening, plus it was something that Anastasia expressed she always wanted to do but never got the chance to due to always being busy back home, "Mama works in the science field. She's a researcher analyst when it comes to Chemistry. She's also a designer for wedding dresses too since it was a dream of hers for the longest time."

"Really?" Anneliese looked at the other in shock. She was aware that her mother was very talented, but she had no idea what she was specifically talented in.

The Russian girl nodded with a small giggle upon seeing her sister's expression. Every time she told someone how her mother was an analyst and wedding dress designer, they always would be amazed at how someone could pursue an occupation within both of those fields, "She's becoming quite famous, believe it or not. A princess in Greece just bought one of her gowns and she's featured in _Vogue_ a lot."

"The magazine? I love _Vogue_!" Anneliese expressed as she turned her head to face the other, indicating that she was paying attention to her very closely.

Anastasia nodded in agreement. Sometimes her mother did work a lot, but she always managed to make time to spend with her. Even if she didn't, her aunt or uncle would take her out to do things too so that way she wasn't cooped up inside all day, "You know what's interesting?"

"What is?" Anneliese turned her gaze back to the stars.

"Neither one of our parents ever got married again," Anastasia commented. If there was one thing that she was known for, it was picking up the smallest details. Upon listening to Anneliese give the explanation of how their father had been doing, she noticed that he didn't seek any interest in getting married again. It was the same with her mother; she didn't have the slightest interest in being a married woman once more, "You said dad isn't interested in marriage, right?"

Anneliese nodded in response and brought her arms over her head so she could use her hands as a pillow to support her neck, "Never," She responded. It was true. Over the years she hadn't seen her father once discuss about getting married again. He seemed too occupied in bringing success to his vineyard that relationships were never discussed, "He always says I'm the only important person in his life."

A yawn came from Anastasia as she listened to the other explain about their father. It was truly fascinating to her to hear this. To get remarried to another person was probably odd for a divorced individual - at least, so she thought. She didn't know since she wasn't the one divorced in the first place.

A couple of minutes had passed since the two girls had exchanged words. By just body language, it was clear enough that the girls were getting tired, thus resulting in them to begin gathering up their blankets to go inside the cabin. It was as Anastasia was picking up her blankets and folding them, that Anneliese had let out a gasp and dropped all of hers.

"I have brilliant, beyond brilliant idea." Anneliese immediately turned to her sister, who stood there pouting seeing that the blankets she had dropped were all dirty. But it didn't seem to matter to the other, "Stop pouting! I am an absolute genius! Listen to me Ana,"

"I'm listening." A sigh came from the quieter girl.

"You want to know what Dad is like, rightttt?" Anneliese approached the other with a large grin on her face. What exactly was she planning? "And I am DYING to know mom, so what I'm thinking is… Don't freak out, okay?"

This made Anastasia's eyes roll in response. Whatever Anneliese would probably propose… May or may not work out in the long run, "I can't promise you that."

Anneliese ignored those words and grasped onto her sister's shoulders now, this time wanting to make sure that the other was paying attention to her fully, "I think we should switch places." The second these words were said, Anastasia could feel her jaw slowly beginning to drop. Anneliese couldn't be serious… Right? By the expression on her face, she didn't seem like she was joking, "When camp's over, I'll go back to Moscow as you, and you go back to California as me!"

"What?!"

"Anastasia, I'm pretty sure we can pull this off. We're twins, aren't we?" The grin on Anneliese's expression only became bigger while the horror on Anastasia's face became even more visible. The American girl fully believed that they would be able to do it. If she was able to pull off a large prank successfully… Well, for a while before the camp counselors came and ruin it, she was sure that she and Anastasia would be able to successfully complete the plan!

"Anneliese, listen to me," Anastasia shifted the blankets in her arms so they were underneath her arm while her other arm can be free. It was there that she motioned to each other, "We may be spitting images of each other because that's how identical twins work… But - We are completely one hundred percent different from each other. Mama knows me better than anyone, and one mess up could be the end of it!"

This statement made Anneliese roll her eyes. She believed that the other had definitely been overreacting more than usual, "So, what's the problem?" She questioned and leaned forward, "I'll teach you to be me, and you teach me to be you. Look, I can do you already." It was there that she pulled off a hair elastic from her wrist and pulled her hair back, before clearing her throat, "Yes, you want to know the real difference between us?" She pulled off a heavy Russian accent in an innocent tone, "I know how to fence and you don't, or I have class and you don't. Take your pick,"

This made Anastasia begin to laugh the slightest. To her and well, the rest of her mother's side of the family, seeing a person impersonate a Russian accent was absolutely hilarious. But of course, seeing that Anneliese did have European blood in her just as she had American blood in her, she believed the other did a very good job.

"Come on Ana…" Anneliese clasped her hands together now and let her lips form into a pouty face similarly to any begging puppy, "I gotta meet mama. Pretty pweezee?"

Anastasia was silent for a moment. She gazed up at the sky for a moment and closed her eyes; taking the other's words into consideration. It wasn't a bad idea… Since yes, it was true. If there was one thing in the world she could have, it was to meet her father after so many years, "The truth is, you know… If we switch… Sooner or later - mama and dad will have to unswitch us."

"And when they do they'll have to meet again, face-to-face!" Anneliese gasped in excitement before that original grin of hers shifted into a large smirk.

"After all these years…" Anastasia turned around with a thinking expression on her face. It would be a process that they need to start immediately. Specifically, the next day if they wanted things to work out smoothly. It was then that once they were inside, she nodded in agreement, "Okay, let's do it."

"Thank you!" Anneliese wrapped her arm around her sister and brought her into a tight embrace, before letting go and patting her head, "I told ya, I'm a genius!"


	7. Ch 6: The Switch

**Chapter 6: The Switch**

The very next day, the two girls began the process of transitioning each other to act like one another. First things first was to explain who lived within each household and how daily routines were as followed. At breakfast, they were separated from the rest of the campers at an isolation table. The two of them didn't mind, seeing that this was an opportunity to converse in private.

"So, this is Uncle Vanya." Anastasia began as she slid over an image of her uncle for the other to see. It had been an image of him playing peek-a-boo back when she was a toddler, "He's mama's older brother. His real name is Ivan, but my mama and aunt call him by that nickname. The scarf you see in that image, well, he's still wearing to this day. He also only likes to speak in Russian in the house, but will do occasional English since mama told him she wants me to know English for future job opportunities,"

As Anneliese examined the image, she couldn't help but remember that certain things were called differently in Russia. So she couldn't necessarily just call him 'Uncle Vanya'. Thus, leading for her to ask her sister, "What do you call him back home?"

"Dyadya (Uncle) Vanya." Anastasia answered as she rummaged through her images more to see if she had anything of her aunt to share next, "But you can just call him Dyadya. Speaking of which, you're going to have to learn some Russian while we're at it. I speak Belarusian, Russian, Ukrainian, Polish - because they're all similar to each other, but English too. But since you'll be in Moscow, all you'll need to know is Russian."

This made Anneliese choke on her food slightly. There was one thing she was terrible at, and that was learning different languages. Heck, she struggled to learn French when her uncle insisted that she should know the language! "How am I gonna learn Russian in five weeks? If I can't do French, then how the heck am I gonna learn a language that rolls r's constantly?"

"I didn't say you were going to do it alone. Don't worry, I'll teach you. And by the end of camp, you'll be speaking very fluent Russian that it'll make your European ancestors proud." Anastasia nodded in determination, "We'll begin tonight. For now though…" It was then that she pulled out an image of a woman. This time, it was an image of all three siblings. Her aunt on the right, uncle in the middle, and mother at the very left.

"This is Tetya (aunt) Katya." Anastasia used her fingers to point specifically who. One thing that Anneliese couldn't help but to notice was her bust size immediately, but alas she didn't comment on it, "She's mama's older sibling. So in order of who's oldest, it's Katya, then Vanya is the middle child, and mama is the youngest."

"Probably sucks being the youngest kid," Anneliese couldn't help but to comment, but this made Anastasia giggle.

"Well, not necessarily. She told me she had a very good childhood with her siblings." Anastasia shrugged before clearing her throat to continue, "Anyway, I call Katya, Tetya, which means 'aunt'. So, Tetya Katya," It was there that she took out a pen and wrote the name, along with the pronunciation for Anneliese to learn, "She'll be the one picking you up at the airport. Also, she likes to give really tight hugs, so be careful."

"Tight hugs, Tetya Katya…" Anneliese wiped her mouth with a napkin as she was finished eating her breakfast. After taking a sip out of her orange juice, she took in the information and nodded in understanding, "Gotcha."

The next couple of days had been spent between the two exchanging more information amongst each other. This time it was Anastasia's turn to learn about her father's side of the family. In their cabin, Anneliese had put together a presentation board with the rooms of the house explained out, along with who exactly lives in the house.

"Okay, so aside from dad and me, there's also uncle Matt." Anneliese explained as she pointed to an image that was on the board of a man with dirty, wavy blonde hair, red sweater, and a hockey stick as the image was herself, Alfred, and Matthew all attending a hockey game in Ontario, "He's dad's twin brother too, but they're not identical. In this case, they're fraternal."

The entire time Anneliese explained this information to her, Anastasia had written it down in a journal so that way before she could go to bed, she could review these notes. After all, just as it would be different for Anneliese when she was in Russia, it would be completely different for her too.

"This is 'pops," Anneliese moved onto the next image of a man whom seemed to be in his early forties. He was a man definitely young to be a grandfather, but he was also young when he became a parent in the first place as well. The man had blonde hair, a light stubble and had it pulled back in a ribbon. In the image specifically, he wore a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned just the slightest so a bit of chest hair could be seen, "Or grand-père Francis. He's from France and usually does all the cooking in the house, because he believes dad will probably poison me one day with his cooking," Upon hearing this, Anastasia could feel her eyes widen in shock.

"Is dad's cooking that bad?" She asked in worry since she had never experienced having terrible food before. Back home, her aunt was more expected to make supper. When she was busy, her uncle would take over. And if both were busy, then her mother would take over. But never has she heard of a parent having terrible cooking skills.

This made Anneliese laugh in response. The reason why she found it so amusing was because well, out of everyone within her household, her grandfather was the smartest. Sure, he was young for a grandfather, but he knew how her father was. Plus, she also could vouch as well that sometimes her dad didn't make the most mature decisions, "Nah, don't worry about it." She laughed, "By bad cooking, dad usually makes a lot of junk food. Burgers, fries, pizza - you name it."

"If mama knew that's what you were eating, she'd probably faint…" Anastasia couldn't help but gasp in a low whisper.

"That's why grand-père Francis is the best. He makes all the fancy dishes in the house and makes sure that vegetables fully exist in the house. So don't worry, you'll get healthy food every day." Anneliese reassured her with a grin.

All Anastasia could really feel in that moment was a bit of concern. But it made sense, she whenever she had the opportunity she absolutely would love to have a hamburger or even pizza. It was probably something she picked up from her dad, or maybe it's just the fact that she was half-American too and her inheritance is what made her enjoy the food a lot.

The lectures they exchanged with each other was something that they both studied every night before going to bed. Along with this, they would spend a minimum of three hours after supper reviewing the Russian language. Anastasia's intentions weren't to teach Anneliese Russian handwritten, but orally. There was no reason as to why she needed to know how to write, especially since when language would only be occurring orally throughout the house.

It was most certainly a process, but as the days and hours went by, Anneliese put as much effort as she could into it. If learning Russian was a necessary step to meet her mother, then she would do it. There were nights where she would become very confused, but Anastasia always managed to reassure her and explain it easier for the other to understand.

The two worked well as a duo. Anneliese successfully was able to learn Russian culture, the language (well, not fully, but somewhat), and even the customs of the culture within a span of a couple of days. The same went for Anastasia as well. Even though she wasn't learning English, she did learn more about her father's side of the family and formed the behavior that Anneliese would have when she returned home. However, there was one difficult task that Anastasia had to do in order to proceed with the plan...

...And that was to cut her hair.

It was a Sunday morning when the two had woken up to proceed with the task. Anastasia had been sitting in a chair with a towel wrapped around her body, while her sister brushed out her twin's long locks of blonde hair.

"Why do you gotta have long hair?" Anneliese commented as she used a hairbrush to comb through her sister's hair, "It's so hard to manage."

Anastasia rolled her eyes at that statement. Truthfully, she loved her long hair. It was something that her mother had, and since her mother was indeed a very beautiful woman, she wanted to have the same hairstyle as her mother. So long hair and bangs was indeed the hairstyle she's had for years now. At least it wasn't a lot of hair they would be cutting. Anneliese had shoulder-lengthed hair and bangs similarly to hers as well, so it wouldn't be hard for her to grow it back. "Why do you have to have short hair?"

"Because it's easier to brush through," Anneliese answered, which was almost a bit childish. Anastasia sighed and didn't question it further because if her sister wanted to have shoulder-lengthed hair, that was her own decision.

When Anneliese did finish brushing out the other's hair, it was then that she approached a nearby desk and retrieved a pair of scissors. The pair of scissors was one that was technically meant for crafts, but the girls figured they could compromise and get away with them being used for hair.

With the pair of scissors now in her hair, the American turned to face her sister who had been silently bracing for what was about to come for her. Anneliese was silent as she examined the other's hair and her own, before sliding her fingers down at the appropriate shoulder length. But like any person who has never given a haircut, she was nervous. So just as she was about to make the first cut, she found herself shut her eyes tightly. This caught Anastasia's attention and instantly, she grabbed her sister's wrist.

"Don't shut your eyes!" Anastasia looked at her with a firm look, which resulted in Anneliese to chuckle nervously while glancing down at the pair of scissors in her hair,

"Sorry, just got a bit nervous…" Anneliese admitted and once again, reached over for a piece of hair to cut. Anneliese had the right to be nervous because one mess up could be the end of all their hard work they had put into the plan thus far.

This made Anastasia narrow her eyes now at the other, "You're nervous?" It was at that moment where her accent had disappeared for a moment and transitioned into a more American one, "An eleven-year-old is cutting my hair!"

"Hey!" Anneliese giggled now when hearing the other's tone of voice change. She gave her sister a pat on the back seeing that all of their work really was coming together now, "You sounded just like me."

Once again, another eyeroll came from Anastasia. She knew that Anneliese was only commenting to distract herself. It was one thing to be nervous about giving a person a haircut, but she was entrusting her sister to not mess up her hairstyle. She wanted to be able to at least grow back her hair easily once the situation came to an end, "Well, I'm supposed to, aren't I?" She took in a deep breath, "Go on, just get it over with."

Without allowing another second to pass, Anneliese proceeded with the plan as followed. With a portion of Anastasia's hair in her hand, she made the first cut that she would be her guide to cutting the rest of her hair. The sound of the scissors cutting through her hair made Anastasia tense up. Upon seeing this, Anneliese reassured her, "Don't panic. You look great."

Anneliese proceeded with the haircut for the next couple of minutes. The more and more she cut, the more the floorboards behind them became covered with Anastasia's hair. Once in a while she would stop to gather the hair and dump it into the trash, but immediately afterwards she was back to cutting.

Once the cutting process was taken care of, now came along the styling. With a hairbrush and hair elastic, Anneliese had brushed Anastasia's hair halfway back and tied it up so that way it was half up, while her bangs were swept to the side slightly but covered her forehead still. Anastasia stood up once the towel was removed and approached a mirror nearby. To her dismay, she believed that Anneliese did a good job.

"This is…" Anastasia gave her hair a gentle touch, "...so scary."

"Honey, you never looked better." Anneliese chuckled softly as she tossed away the remainder of the hair that met the ground. Once it was thrown away, she stood up herself to be not only staring at herself, but her sister who officially resembled her. There was practically no difference between the two of them. Personality wise, yes, but physically - they were absolutely identical… That was until… "Oh no."

Anastasia immediately shot her head over to her sister. Oh no was never good and the last thing she needed to hear was that Anneliese messed up, "What?"

It was there that Anneliese turned to face her sister. Instead of looking at her face, she was looking directly at her ears. She reached towards her face with one hand, not even considering the confused look the other was making as she felt along her earlobes.

"So uh… Ana," She began, only to lower her hand down with a bit of a nervous hint of laughter. This wasn't going to go so well, "How do you feel about getting your ears pierced?"

And of course, the reaction that was given by Anastasia was expected. To her, she did always want her ears pierced, yes, but she never had the chance to. Her mother refused to get her ears pierced back when she was younger due to thinking she was too young, but now that she was older - it was occasionally discussed, but she would much rather have it done professionally.

"No, no, and _nyet_!" Anastasia turned around and walked away from the mirror. She was bitter knowing that her sister even had the courage to even suggest such a thing! But it was done rightfully so, "Sorry, not happening! If I am to get it done, it'll have to be done professionally with a trained piercer!"

Anneliese sighed as she placed the scissors down and crossed her arms. She turned to face her sister now to give her full attention, "Then cutting your hair was a waste for this plan." She reminded the other as she approached her now. Anastasia had sat down on her bed with her arms crossed in annoyance, obviously not liking the idea of this plan any further now, "There's no way I can go to camp with pierced ears and then come back without them. C'mon, like, get real."

That was enough for Anastasia to give into decision. What she didn't know was how exactly she would get her ears pierced, especially since they were on camp grounds with no transportation around them. But of course with having a sister who had very unique skills, that wasn't an issue at all. According to Anneliese, all they needed was a sterilized needle, some ice, and a lemon.

The following evening was when they proceeded with the ear piercing portion of the plan. Anneliese had been in the process of sterilizing a sewing needle that came with her emergency sewing kit her uncle packed, while Anastasia had been laying in bed with ice to hear earlobe to keep it numb during the process.

"A-Are you sure this is going to work?" Anastasia began with clear nervousness in her tone. She's never heard of people being able to pierce someone's ears with a sewing needle of all things. What her greatest concern was something going wrong during the whole process. Then again, she did allow an eleven year old to cut her hair in the first place. What could go wrong with an eleven year old piercing her ears too? "Do you even know wh-what you're doing?"

Anneliese though brushed off her sister's concerns. As she blew off the match she used to sterilize the needle, she cleaned it off once again with rubbing alcohol before making sure the medical gloves she wore were snug on her hands, "Relax," She began as she approached the other and sat beside her, "I've done this many times with my friends when they wanted their ears pierced. It's nothing. Just close your eyes and it'll be over before you know it."

It indeed did come an end before she knew it. The first piercing in the ear resulted in the both of them screaming. Anastasia screaming because she was panicking, while Anneliese screamed simply out of habit seeing her sister panic. It was the same for the second earlobe as well, but in the end they were successful in completing the task.

As they proceeded with their training sessions to learn about each other and their families successfully for the plan, the days came by as well. Eventually the end of camp arrived as well.

It was a sad day for most of the campers as they would tearfully hug each other and remind themselves that camp would be coming the next year. However for the twins, they knew they would be seeing each other very soon.

The twins were in a close embrace as they stood by the entrance of the camp. Anneliese would be taking a limousine to the airport to be brought back to Russia, while Anastasia would be taking a bus to the airport where she would be traveling to California.

"Okay…" Anneliese pulled away from her sister as she stood there with a smile on her face. She was honestly proud of herself and her sister for working so well throughout the entire summer to achieve this plan. It was interesting to see how they went from being at each other's throats, to being the bestest of friends. It was hard to believe too since normally siblings weren't normally friends at all, "This is it."

Anastasia gave the other a small nod in agreement as she reached into her book bag. It was there that she exchanged passport and flight information to Anneliese as the other did the same with her information, "Here's your ticket and passport." Anastasia began, "Tetya Katya will pick you up at the airport in Moscow tomorrow morning."

Once being given the information, Anneliese nodded and slid the documents into her bag, "And dad should be picking you up at Napa County. Remember, you're going to find out how they got divorced."

"And you're going to find out how they met and fell in love." Anastasia responded as the two nodded in agreement. It was as they were standing there that a limousine eventually did pull up to them, which was the signal that it was time to go. "Give mama a kiss for me." She began and embraced her sister once more in a tight hug.

Anneliese felt a small smile draw to her lips before returning the gesture. She wrapped her arms around her sister's frame, hugging her tightly and taking in the last moments they would have together before separating until when they would have to be switched back, "And give dad one for me."

The driver of the limousine approached the door and opened it up in front of the two girls. It was there that Anastasia gave one last tight squeeze to the hug with her sister, before letting go of her and watching her as she made her way inside the vehicle.

"Love ya!" Anneliese called out before the doors had closed, and soon she was off. Anastasia stood there in silence now as she took in a deep breath and watched the vehicle begin to drive away. A smile formed along her lips, glad that things had been working out in their favor so far.

"Good luck."


	8. Ch 7: A Mother-Daughter Reunion

**Chapter 7: A Mother-Daughter Reunion**

The flight itself wasn't as difficult as she thought it would be. This wasn't her first time traveling outside of the states, but this was the first time she's ever traveled to Russia in particular. Anneliese had no idea what to expect upon entering the country. From what she had learned based off of Anastasia's information, vodka was considered the best kind of alcohol, the food was great, and Russia was the best country when it came to hockey.

Anneliese couldn't help but sigh softly as she slouched in her seat in the airplane. Occasionally she would take a glance outside, but it only made her nervous upon realizing that she was really in Russia now, and not in the states anymore like she was all her life. Upon hearing that they were about to descend, she could feel her anxiety hit the peak now.

"Okay… This is it…" She whispered to herself in a low tone while keeping her eyes closed. With taking in a deep breath, she couldn't help but think about her mother. The first time in years, seeing her mother with her very own eyes. It was a dream come true in all reality, but it was one where she didn't know if she was mentally ready for it, "Oh gosh, I hope she likes me… please, please like me, mama…"

Once the plane officially landed began the process of step one of the plan; get off the plane and don't get tackled by the other foreigners that were also trying to get to the gate. Anneliese was calm throughout the entire walk through the gate, and once she had entered the airport officially she couldn't help but to feel her jaw drop.

It was so lively. Not just lively with people, but many, many foreigners. Many foreigners that probably worked in the line of business or even the government, seeing that Russia was a country that indeed had a lot of business.

Anneliese began to look around. As Anastasia had told her, her aunt would be picking her up from the airport. Of course, with there being crowds around, it was difficult for the eleven-year-old to even see if there was a busty-tall-woman around the area. Thus, the searching resorted to her standing in one of the gate chairs and looking around to see for anyone.

" _Anastasia_!"

The sound came from behind her. It was from there that Anneliese turned around, only to meet the eyes of a very tearful looking tall woman. Well, that was easier than she thought it'd be. But wait, why was she crying? Did she do something wrong to-

Before even having the chance to think, the child was pulled into a tight embrace in the tall woman's arms as kisses were placed against her forehead and cheeks. Anastasia was _not_ joking about their aunt being like this.

"Oh, how much I missed you!" Katyusha began under their native tongue as she wiped her eyes and cupped the child's cheeks once letting her go of the tight embrace. It was there that Anneliese couldn't help but to smile a bit. May as well play along to make her aunt happy, right?

"I missed you too, Tetya Katya." Anneliese spoke as best as she could under the native tongue. As Anastasia said, luckily some English was spoken in the household, so she didn't have to worry about knowing full-blown Russian to understand her family.

It was there that the Ukrainian immediately noticed something different. She picked the child up from the chair now, before gasping, "Anastasia! You cut your hair!" She began, to which she lowered herself down and examined her further, "Your ears are pierced too! Camp truly did change you after eight weeks, didn't it?"

"Mhm!" Anneliese nodded at the statement. Without even having a chance to continue speaking, her aunt had already grasped onto her hand and was already making her way towards the direction of luggage claim, "I had a friend cut it for me. Do you like it?"

Katyusha found herself chuckle softly at the comment as they walked, "I don't like it," This made Anneliese's smile immediately crash into a shocked frown. One thing that Anastasia may or may have forgotten to mention was that the entire family loved sarcasm because her aunt had immediately followed that statement by saying, "I absolutely love it. I know your mother said to bring her back surprises from America and you truly followed up to that expectation."

"Oh…" Anneliese nervously laughed and looked away. With her free hand, she couldn't help but cross her index and middle finger while hiding it behind her back, "You have no idea what _surprises_ I have in store."

The next twenty minutes was focused on exiting the airport. Of course, Anneliese stayed close to her aunt, seeing that she seemed to have better navigation of the place than she did. Eventually, once all of Anneliese's baggage was retrieved, the two carried it out to a taxi that had been waiting outside for them. Anneliese climbed in first followed by Katyusha, to where she buckled her seat and the trip to the Braginsky home began.

The entire car trip, Anneliese was pressed up against her window. She looked around in amazement whenever they passed by beautiful buildings, statues, and even the Moscow Kremlin! She had only seen and heard of it in textbooks from school, yet there she was seeing it for the first time. It was amazing to her that she now knew that she was technically bilingual through her mother and it was something she would proudly show off if someone asked.

In context, Anneliese like any child found it amazing that her mother was from a place where beautiful artifacts and crazy history existed within.

It was about a forty minute drive until they had arrived. When they did, Anneliese could feel her nervousness begin to well up in her stomach once more. The house they had pulled into when they arrived… Was well, large. It was something that she didn't expect her mother to live in, seeing that her family was so small and all. But with remembering how Anastasia explained it was the house their mother and her siblings grew up in, it would make sense that the home be similar to almost a mansion.

They were in a private neighborhood as well. This made sense, seeing that her mother's family seemed like the type of quiet family and didn't want to be involved as much with issues that would take place in lower neighborhoods within the city.

Brick walls were the layout of the home on the exterior, while a staircase led to the entrance of the home. If one were to look closely, vines covered the walls as well and one window of each floor seemed to have a balcony. It must have been wonderful to eat breakfast outside on the balcony on a warm day.

Unfortunately for it being Russia, there was a bit of snow on the ground. Not too much, but it was enough for Anneliese to be wearing a pink winter coat, some gloves and a hat to keep her warm just in case. She stepped out of the vehicle upon arriving and thanked the driver as she stood there in front of the staircase. Now her nerves were beginning to hit.

"Go on ahead, dear," Katyusha called out to her as she was fiddling for her wallet to pay the driver, "I'll meet you inside."

Inside… Where her mother was. There was no going back now after all she had done for the last couple of weeks. With a small nod to her aunt, Anneliese made the first couple of steps to the entrance. She pushed open the door to the home and wandered in, only to meet the face of….

...Nothing. What her eyes did meet though was the sight of a grand entryway. In front of her was another staircase to which she presumed led to the bedrooms. On the right was a hallway that led to another area of the house, while the left led to what she presumed was the living room.

" _Privet_?" Anneliese called out in a lowered tone while examining the area. She didn't know if she should go upstairs or stay down there. Regardless, she needed to remember that she couldn't act like a stranger. If she was going to play the role of Anastasia successfully, then she knew that Anastasia would go exploring in the house until she could locate another member of the family.

Thus, that's what she did. Anneliese placed her bag beside the entrance of the home and went in the direction of the right hallway. It was there she was exposed to more doors, along with making contact with the dining room. She peeked her head inside the dining room now, hoping that someone would be inside… But, not at all.

However, her eyes did meet a sign that was hung up on the wall along with a couple of balloons and a cake on the middle of the table with an unopened bottle of vodka. Anastasia wasn't joking about the alcohol thing; vodka was really a specialty in the country.

Anneliese couldn't read Russian well, but from just learning it orally what she presumed the sign said was: 'Welcome Home Anastasia'. It was cute, but truthfully on the inside, she wished it said welcome home for her. After all, she was home after eleven years of not seeing her mother.

Her thoughts were interrupted though by the sound of someone coughing in one of the rooms that was cracked open. She turned in the direction of the coughs, and before she even knew it she was standing outside what she presumed to be someone's study. Was this her mother's study?... No, that couldn't be. A woman's cough wouldn't sound as deep as the one she heard, right?

Ever so quietly, Anneliese peeked her head through the opening of the door where she indeed did find one person. This one person in particular had been a man looking at some documents and occasionally pushing up a pair of reading glasses to get a closer look at it. This had to be Ivan. He seemed busy, so she had decided to slowly step away from the entrance so she wouldn't interrupt-

" _Is that little Anastasia trying to sneak away from me_?"

The girl froze at the heavy Russian language that came from behind the door. Holy - Her uncle _really_ did know how to pick up things fast. It was as if he had eyeballs on the top of his head since she didn't even see him look up to acknowledge her presence!

Anneliese peaked her head in once again and found herself giggling slightly in nervousness. It was then that the Russian man who sat at the desk looked up at the child now; lowering his glasses and adjusting the posture in his seat, "I'm sure that by now little Anya knows that I can sense _anyone_ from behind that door, hm?"

"I'm sorry." Anneliese was giggling to herself now. By the tone of voice that the other gave, it was just too funny. She didn't expect the sarcasm from her aunt before, but from her uncle now? That was enough to confirm her suspicions that Russians really did like saying the most harmless things… Even if it made someone feel uncomfortable, "You seemed busy, Dyadya (uncle). I didn't want to interrupt."

"Nonsense!" The man stood up now and placed the glasses he wore down on top of his desk. He moved from his seat and made his way over to the girl. By just seeing how tall he was… Anneliese was astonished. He had to be at least over six feet tall! Maybe she was comparing it too much, seeing that she stood at a whooping four-foot-eleven in height. But the difference was insane, "Seeing my little Anya again after a long time is much more important than any work this country throws at me." A large smile formed along his lips as he knelt down so they were at a more leveled height before holding out his arms, "Welcome home, Anastasia."

Anneliese let out a small sigh of relief on the inside and hid this by smiling even more and allowing her uncle to embrace her in a tight hug. She could tell that her aunt and uncle truly loved Anastasia lot, but goodness they sure both are intimidating. All she hoped was that her mother wasn't the same.

"Did you have a good time, dear?" Ivan had asked her after placing a kiss upon her forehead. It was there that he indeed noticed the changes she made officially to herself and before allowing the child to even answer, he couldn't help but to comment, "You cut your hair too? And pierced ears?... Has your mother seen you yet?"

" _Nyet_." More laughter came from the child and the Russian couldn't help but to feel a grin form along his lips. A sneaky child indeed is something that came from her mother, he couldn't help but to think, "And I had such a wonderful time that I can't wait for the next year."

This caught Ivan off guard upon hearing that she couldn't wait until the following year. So soon, already? But if she said she had a good time, then he wasn't opposed to letting his niece go again and have fun. It was much better than spending it in the large home where work was occurring all the time amongst the three siblings.

One thing he couldn't help but to notice though was how much 'Anastasia' embrace him at that very moment. He could understand that she missed him a lot, but what brought his attention to fruition was when she began sniffing him, "Hmmm? What are you doing?"

"Just smelling," Anneliese answered as she had her face pressed into her uncle's chest. It was probably weird, yes, but to her, she was taking in the smells of something Anastasia had been able to experience for years.

"Smelling?"

"I'm making a memory." Anneliese looked up at her uncle now with a large smile on her face. It was an odd way to make a memory, but in her eyes it made sense, "Years from now when I'm all grown up, I'll always remember my uncle and how he smelled of..." She pressed her face into his chest again, making the Russian laugh when she pulled back, "A freshly bloomed sunflower and vodka."

This was enough to get the man laughing. If there was one thing that he knew his niece was good at, it was amusing him every chance they spent together. Since she was born, he was always amazed at anything new she brought to the table, especially with knowing that this was his baby sister's child in the first place. "Oh," Ivan smiled and patted his niece's head again, "It's very good to have you back, Anastasia-"

A sound from outside the door soon rung in Anneliese's ears, _"Anya_?" This time it wasn't a sweet, gentle voice like her aunt, nor was it a heavy deep one like her uncle… Could it possibly be? By the look on her uncle's face when he motioned for her to go, she knew it had to be _her_.

Without a second thought, Anneliese had sprinted from her uncle's arms to the area where the source of sound was coming from.

"Anastasia?" The woman's voice became louder as Anneliese ran down the hallway and went to the entrance of the house again. It was there that she stood at the end of the staircase and almost at an instant, she swore she was about to faint.

There stood on the top of the stairs a petite woman, unlike her uncle and aunt. A woman at the height of probably five-foot-four with long blonde locks of hair draped behind her back. Her hair had been halfway pulled back with a white ribbon, while her hips had been clothed in a black skirt, a white sweater along her body and a necklace with a similar shape to the locket Anneliese and Anastasia wore. Dark-violet eyes met her already teary-eyed blue ones as Anneliese stood there, absolutely speechless to know that the woman up those stairs was her mother.

"M-Mama?"

A gentle smile formed on Natalya's lips as she stood there at the top of the stairs and already she was making her way down them, "Look at you, Anya. You're back so soon," Once she was halfway down the stairs, she held out her arms to the child, "Come give me a hug because I sure damn as hell deserve it after having to wait _weeks_ to see you again."

Anneliese didn't even catch the sarcasm in her tone. It was practically less than a couple of seconds before she had leaped into the woman's arms. It was there at the very moment where Natalya brought her daughter into an embrace; holding her close as she soothingly ran her fingers through her hair.

In Natalya's eyes, all she could see was her Anastasia return after eight long weeks of being abroad at summer camp. But to Anneliese, this was a big moment that she would never forget. The first time she had seen her mother in years. It was the woman she would dream about, admire in that photograph of her father after their wedding day… There she was, right in front of her.

The woman sat down on the staircase as she placed a kiss against Anneliese's cheeks and head. By just a mother's instinct, she could tell that her child missed her, but she had no idea how badly the term miss didn't even describe how Anneliese was feeling.

"I can't believe it's you…!" Anneliese began as she wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes. To Natalya, this was surprising, since she never imagined 'Anastasia' to want to cry after being away from home for so long.

"And I can't believe it's you," Natalya cupped her daughter's cheeks as she noticed the change in physical appearance to her daughter. First, she had ran her fingers again through her now shoulder-lengthed hair, followed by seeing her pierced ears, "And with short hair… Who cut it for you?"

Anneliese took in a deep breath; trying her best to calm down after the emotional roller coaster she had just experienced, "A friend… I-I met at camp, do you hate it?"

" _Nyet, nyet_ \- I adore it." Natalya smiled gently at the other to reassure her of her worries, "It's the new Anya. And pierced ears too, hm?" The child in front of her nodded as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. This made the woman laugh as she rested her forehead against her daughter's, "Are there any other surprises you want to tell me? Belly button rings, tattoos?" She was only joking when saying this and by her laughing tone, it was enough of an indicator to show that she was truly happy for her daughter and glad to see that she had a splendid time at camp. But, the amount of crying the child was giving her…

"Oh, my Anastasia... What's wrong?" It was almost as if Natalya had shifted from a very happy mother to a very concerned one. After all, she knew Anastasia more than even she herself did. So to see 'Anastasia' in such a crying state, she didn't understand why she was so upset, and rightfully so.

Anneliese took in a deep breath now to calm herself. That's right, she couldn't cry. Anastasia wouldn't cry after seeing her mother in so long - but to her, it amount of emotion that hit her at that very moment made her cry. She had every right to expose her tears to her mother, "I'm sorry, mama…" She sniffled as she watched her mother reach into the pocket of her skirt to retrieve a handkerchief and wipe her face. She could tell that her mother was genuinely worried, which was something she didn't intentionally want to cause, "It's just… I've missed you so much."

That was enough to pull a string at Natalya's heart. Her daughter expressing that she missed her dearly was enough for her to pull her child into another close hug while gently rubbing her back to encourage her to calm down, "I know, I know…" She whispered into the child's ear gently, "I missed you very much too. It seems like it's been forever, hm?"

"You have no idea…"


	9. Ch 8: A day in the life of Natalya A

**Chapter 8: A day in the life of Natalya Arlovskaya**

"So come on, tell me," Natalya had been sitting in the living room with Anneliese as she held a cup of tea in her hands. The entire time the two sat there, Anneliese practically hadn't let go of her mother at that point. The child was snuggled up in her mother's arms, which Natalya didn't mind at all, "Did you have fun? Make any new friends?"

"I did," Anneliese sat up now and reached for her cup of tea that was on the coffee table still cooling down. Prior to the tea session with her mother beginning, it took a couple of minutes of comforting to get her to calm down. Even her uncle had came out of his study to ask if she was okay, to which Natalya responded with telling him that she'd take care of it.

With her now cooled cup of tea in hand, Anneliese crossed a leg over the other as she took a sip out of it. Normally she wasn't a fan of tea and was more of the coffee type, but for the sake of playing Anastasia right she'd drink the entire cup of tea, even if she had to add more sugar whenever her mother wasn't looking, "America is very different compared to how I thought it'd be."

This made Natalya laugh in response. As an individual who travelled to the states frequently for work, she couldn't help but to find herself amused upon hearing the culture shock that 'Anastasia' experienced, "Well, it's more diverse than here, that's for one thing-" Her words were interrupted upon seeing her older sister enter the room. This had Natalya lower her tea now as she glanced at the other in suspicion, "Sestra? What is it?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Katyusha began as she stepped into the room, which Natalya simply shook her head at the apology and reassuring the other that it was alright, "But I wanted to ask Anya something. You see, I was unpacking for you and I found… This," In the taller woman's hands held a stuffed animal. It wasn't just any stuffed animal, but it was the same polar bear stuffed animal that she just _had_ to have during her time in Russia.

"OhmygodKumajiro,"

This caught Natalya's attention. She turned over at to her daughter now and lowered her cup of tea, "...Kumajiro?" She questioned, finding it quite odd that 'Anastasia' had also brought back a stuffed animal from camp. Though to her, it almost looked similar to a souvenir from Canada.

"H-He, uh-!" Anneliese immediately placed her cup of tea down and quickly approached her aunt before she was further questioned. When the child took it from her hands, Katyusha simply stared at her younger sister in confusion, but by the looks they exchanged, it seemed that they were confused on what the child was trying to explain, "Belongs to my friend, from camp! She uh, must've accidentally put it into my belongings while I was packing."

"I see…" Katyusha crossed her arms now as she rested her back against the entryway of the room, "Well, should we dispose of it, then? Seeing that it's not yours, Anya?"

This made Anneliese panic. There was no way she could get rid of Kumajiro that easily! It was a gift from her uncle and she'd hate herself probably until death for doing such a thing. "Nyet, nyet - I'll mail it back to her. She loves this thing, a lot, a lot, a lot. And she's had this thing her entire life and couldn't, say, be in a foreign country without him." Anneliese found herself embrace the stuffed creature with a firm grip, "We can mail it back to her… Right?" She looked over at her mother in hopes that it could be possibly arranged.

"Mm, we can. No need to get worried, Anya." Natalya adjusted her position in the chair now as she took another sip out of her beverage. It was a sudden change in behavior for her daughter, but of course, she didn't question it. Maybe being in America influenced her a bit too much, she couldn't help but to wonder. The woman then proceeded to look over at her older sister, who still seemed confused and wanted clarification, "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

"Okay then," Instead of questioning it any further, the Ukrainian leaned over to place a kiss against Anneliese's head again, before exiting the room to return to unpacking the child's belongings. It was a task that Anneliese was supposed to do, but of course, with wanting to make sure jetlag didn't hit the best of the child, Katyusha insisted that she spend time with her mother and she'll take care of the unpacking process for her.

Once she was gone, another interruption occurred. This time it wasn't a person, but a phone. Anneliese found herself turning to the direction of her mother, who was already standing and walking over to its source. It was a cellphone that was plugged into a nearby outlet, to which she unplugged and looked over at her daughter, "Give me two seconds, Anya," She began, before answering under her native tongue, "Hello? Oh… Yes… How's the photoshoot with the new dresses coming along?" She began, before settling down in her chair once more and reaching for her cup tea.

Anneliese didn't mind that her mother had to take a call. If anything, she already knew that her mother was becoming very famous for her businesses as a designer and also her work as an analyst when it came to science. Anastasia was able to express this multiple times during her teaching sessions at camp, and honestly, Anneliese couldn't wait for the day she could brag about just how successful her mother was.

As she waited patiently for the other to end her call, she found herself wandering around the living room. One area in particular though did manage to catch her attention, which was a shelf that had pictures decorated with it. These pictures contained not only images of Anastasia as a baby, but even her mother at a very younger age too. It was interesting to see the resemblance she and her sister had with their mother. Compared to their father, the only thing they managed to inherit was his eye color, ears, hand shape, and freckles, while their noses, hair color and texture, lips and pale complexion all came from their mother.

"Do you think you could manage without me?" Anneliese could hear her mother speak on the phone in English now. It seemed like whoever she was doing business with wasn't Russian. For one thing, it sure was interesting to hear the accent that her mother had when she spoke English for the first time, "Well, Anastasia just returned from camp and I was planning to spend the day with her, you see…"

One thing did manage to grasp Anneliese's attention though, which was a drawer that had been slightly open. She knelt down to take a peek at it out of pure curiosity. From what it looked like, it seemed to be a… Old photo album? She didn't open the drawer fully due to not wanting to raise suspicion with her mother, but by just getting a visual of the writing on top of it… It - It had her name! Not Anastasia, but… Anneliese! Did after all these years, her mother kept items of hers here?... It was amazing to her that Anastasia wasn't able to find them in the first place.

"Anastasia,"

This immediately made Anneliese stand up from her spot and quickly shut the open drawer with her foot. She stood straight in her posture before approaching her mother who seemed like she had to ask something. Since she had been speaking in English, Anneliese responded the same since she knew that her mother wanted her to learn the language as much as she could, "Yes, mama?"

"Would you hate me very much if I asked you to come with me down to a nearby studio?" Natalya had asked now as she had her hand hovering over the microphone of the phone. By the look on her face, she didn't intend on work having to be an issue for the day, but she hoped her daughter could understand, "Work's biting me in the ass today, but I don't want any more time to be wasted between you and me."

"No, I wouldn't hate you!" Anneliese immediately felt her entire face brighten at the invitation. To be offered to go to her mother's studio? She may have been very tired, but she sure as heck wasn't going to pass down that invitation, "I'd absolutely love to come with you." The response she gave was enough to get her mother to smile and nod in agreement.

From there, the woman lowered her hand from the phone and cleared her throat, "Alright, we'll be there in half an hour."

It was from there that the two had finished their tea quickly and proceeded with putting their jackets on. One thing that Anneliese wasn't expecting though for was when her mother told her that they'd be walking. After returning to the house by car, she expected that places in the city had to be dealt with car… But now understanding that it was Moscow and a city, everyone walked to get everywhere.

Anneliese bundled herself up once again in the same jacket, scarf, hat and gloves she returned home in while her mother wore a simple jacket, some gloves and a hat as well to keep warm from the cold weather before heading out. The entire time, Anneliese held onto her mother's hand as she led the way. Sometimes she couldn't help but to find herself distracted seeing the monuments they passed by or even the kinds of buildings that wouldn't be seen in California.

Overall, she was amazed. Russia was an absolutely beautiful country. Anneliese couldn't help but wonder why a lot of people back home hated it, but she rather not question it since it seemed like a more politics-related thing rather than race.

The entire time they walked, the two engaged in conversation about Anneliese's camp experience. Even though they weren't having tea, Natalya still wasn't able to hear about 'Anastasia's' experience and she wanted to know about everything her daughter did. Occasional laughter was exchanged between the two, which was expected for any mother and daughter whenever they were in conversation. Anneliese told her mother about the games of poker she participated in, the activities she did and even talked about the food - since well, she figured that if it were Anastasia talking, she'd probably talk about how unhealthy yet good American food was because it was true.

About fifteen minutes into their walk, they came to a halt outside of a building that had the title, 'Natalya Arlovskaya' on the outside of it. So this must be the studio where her mother would design wedding dresses. Outside on the window revealed a wedding dress that had a ruffled skirt with lace sleeves and a beautiful design along the top of it. This made Anneliese's jaw drop in response while Natalya let out a small chuckle.

"You _designed_ that?" Anneliese looked at her mother in shock, but by the look on her face it was enough to reveal that she loved it, "It's absolutely gorgeous, mama."

In response to the question, Natalya nodded as she ran her fingers through her daughter's hair once more, "Well, of course I did." She answered and turned her focus towards the direction of her studio's window, "I had to do something while you were away at camp and sometimes reading data about chemicals can get boring." As she explained this, she turned her full attention to her daughter now; curious to hear her opinion, "You don't think it's too…"

"Not at all!" Anneliese immediately interrupted her mother. Perhaps this was the inner child of herself speaking her mind, but alas she wanted to know that she was truly amazed at her mother's skills. No wonder a princess from Greece ended up purchasing one of her wedding dresses! "Though, you know who would look very beautiful? I mean, very, very beautiful in it?"

"Who? The Prime Minister?" Natalya joked.

Anneliese giggled at her mother's response because it was indeed funny, but at the same time she was also serious about her own response about who would be beautiful in it, "You."

This made Natalya's brows raise in amusement upon hearing her daughter's response. It surely was one she wasn't expecting, but of course, she knew that the child must have been only joking with her, "Me? You know what I think?" She leaned forward and rested her forehead against her daughter's, making the child giggle innocently, "I think your jetlag is officially beginning to hit you," It was there that she stood up again and began to lead Anneliese inside, "Come on now, let's get to work."

Upon entering the doors of the studio, Anneliese was blown away even further. By just seeing all of the beautiful wedding gowns that decorated the store, she was absolutely amazed by just knowing that the products that were in that store were all from her mother. Being in the main room of the studio didn't last long though since her mother had led to the back where a photoshoot had been taking place. Anneliese had stood by in a corner while her mother walked in and assessed the situation before speaking.

"Okay, I'm here," Natalya began as she examined the room and approached the photographer, speaking to him momentarily before approaching the model who had been wearing the said wedding dress, "What's the problem here?"

"It's the veil," The photographer explained, "If she wears it regularly, it'll cover the lace on the back, and we don't want that. And without the veil-"

As Natalya examined what the photographer was explaining to her, she now nodded in understanding. The entire time the scene played out in front of Anneliese, she was surprised at the amount of patience her mother had in the first place. If she were a designer and there was a photographer telling her that there was something with a product she created, she wouldn't know how to react at all. Especially since to them, these people were foreigners - it was even more amusing to see how well her mother could handle them.

"-It'll look incomplete. I see the problem you're talking about... " Natalya responded and without a second thought, she turned her head over to Anneliese and motioned her daughter over, "Anastasia, come here," Anneliese was unsure of what exactly she had to do, but alas, she listened to her mother's request and looked up at her once she was close enough, "See those two tiaras over there?" Her mother began once she was close enough, "Can you grab them and bring them to me, please?"

It took Anneliese less than a second before she had gone over to the said table where the tiaras sat. Any request that her mother gave her, she'd absolutely do in a heartbeat. But, tiaras? She didn't know exactly what her mother had been planning to do with them. She was the designer though, so she probably had something in mind.

The two tiaras were of different designs and colors. The first one had been a standard gold tiara, while the other had been a silver one with small diamonds bedazzled along the edges of it. By just one glance, Anneliese personally liked the silver tiara more. But of course, it was her mother's decision on which tiara would best suit the model of the wedding dress. But to her amazement, it didn't seem to be her mother's decision.

"Which one do you like more?" Natalya had asked her as she bent her knees slightly so they were at a similar height. Anneliese's eyes widened at the sudden question because she considered this a big decision. After all, it was a photoshoot and she had no idea where the photos were going to be published…

"The silver one," Anneliese answered honestly after a moment of thinking to herself. By the look on her mother's face, she couldn't tell whether or not the other agreed with the decision.

In response to her daughter's claim though, Natalya didn't say anything. All she had done was give her a simple nod of agreement and place her hand on top of Anneliese's head, gently patting it, "I like the silver one too." She whispered, before taking the silver tiara from her daughter's hand and approaching the bride and photographer. It was there that she took the veil that seemed to be causing a problem, adjusted it slightly, and soon placed it on top of the bride's head.

"Now just drape this over, and the height from the tiara should be able to lift the veil up high enough so you can see the lace," Natalya explained to the photographer. By the looks of it, adding the tiara to the overall looked indeed did work well. Not only did the bride look even more beautiful than she originally did, but she honestly looked like a princess in Anneliese's eyes.

'My mom is so cool…' Anneliese thought to herself as she watched the remainder of the photoshoot take place. She admired her mother as he instructed the photographer and bride on what to do, while occasionally adjusting the lighting so that way the camera's focus could pick up even the littlest details she put onto the dress.

Eventually, the photoshoot came to an end. In all truths, Anneliese had an absolute blast. Never did she know her mother was so skilled when it came to not only wedding dresses but the art of photography too. The photographer was able to show some of the previews that would be featured in a magazine in Vogue, which honestly almost made Anneliese faint since she was a frequent reader of the popular magazine.

As they were walking back to the house though, Anneliese figured this would be a good opportunity to ask her mother the questions that she and Anastasia agreed on she would find out more information about, "So with designing all of these wedding gowns," Anneliese began as she held onto her mother's hand; having her focus turn to her mother's who was focused on walking ahead, "Doesn't it ever make you want to get married again? Or at least make you think about the _F-_ word?"

"The F-word?" Natalya stopped walking not because of the statement, but because she had noticed it began raining. It was there that she took out her cellphone and opened an app to call up a taxi. If there was one thing she wouldn't let her daughter go through was walking fifteen minutes in rain just to get back to their home.

Her mother's response to the f-word statement made Anneliese grin a bit in curiosity as she leaned over to her mother and whispered into her ear, "My father."

Natalya paused in place now and glanced down at her daughter when hearing the statement. Now it all made sense to her, "Oh, _that_ f-word." On the inside, the woman could feel her eyes roll. But to her daughter, she didn't want to show this. Instead, she simply smiled and wrapped her arm around her daughter while they patiently waited for their taxi to arrive, "Well, no, actually. The wedding gown I wore when I married the f-word was a hand-me-down from my own mother."

"No way!" Anneliese gasped in amazement.

"Mhm," Natalya gave a gentle nod to the other while looking up ahead to make sure that once she saw the taxi, they could run over to it quickly. After a moment or so, she couldn't help but glance at her daughter once more, "What's with the sudden curiosity about your dad, huh?"

"Wellllll…." Anneliese rocked her feet back and forth, trying to come up with an answer that would at least made sense to answer. She was silent for a moment while her mother patiently waited for her response, "Maybe it's because he's never mentioned… And, you can't blame a child for wondering." She insisted as she rested her head against her mother's arm, "Mama, you can't avoid the subject forever. At _least_ tell me what he was like, please?"

A heavy sigh came from Natalya as she heard her daughter beg. Honestly, one thing she wanted to tell her daughter at that very moment was how her father used to beg to her similarly to how she was right now. The pouty face and the pleases, which in the end always managed to win with Natalya, "Alright, alright… He was very handsome to tell you the truth." Now she had managed to get Anneliese on her toes, curious to know much more, "Actually… He was very lovely. When we first met, he always would ask me everyday to go on dates with him - There, alright?"

"Alright…" Anneliese wasn't done yet. Her goal was to find out exactly how they met, so she went in for the bigger question. The entire time she prepared herself for asking it though, her mother had turned her attention to the cellphone in her hands where she had been reading emails. Instead of directly asking it though, she led into it, "So, did you meet him here in Moscow?"

Natalya looked up from her mobile device now and rose a brow. Now, this was definitely an interesting set of questions coming from her daughter. She thought it was supposed to be the opposite since she was previously asking all of the questions to 'Anastasia'. She figured it was only fair that she answer the question after all of the questions she bombarded to her daughter, "We met in Washington D.C. when I was on an international trip with my job."

"Washington D.C.?" Anneliese acted dumbfounded. She knew exactly where D.C. was, but Anastasia probably didn't, "Where is that?"

"It's in the U.S.." Her mother slid her phone back into her pocket and let out a small yawn into the palm of her hand, "I met your dad the second day I was in the states. He was also in D.C. for some business related things as well. Our businesses were sharing a conference at a dinner the second night, and we were sat next to each other." As she explained this, she noticed their taxi nearby and began walking with her daughter to get to it, "He's an American, you know."

"No kidding!"

"Mhm, so whenever you go to the states again and someone questions your Nationality, all you have to say is that you were born there." A hint of laughter came from Natalya's lips as they approached the vehicle and soon climbed into it with her daughter. Once telling the driver the address of their home, she sat back down and buckled her seatbelt, "You were born in California, which is where your dad was working at the time." Before Anneliese had the chance to ask more questions though, Natalya covered her mouth with her hand, "No more questions, understand? When you turn eighteen I'll answer the rest of them."

A hint of laughter came from Anneliese in response to hearing that statement. Instead of further pushing the questions, she lowered her mother's hand and nodded in agreement, "Deal."

 _Dear Anastasia..._

 _...I wonder what you're doing at this very moment._


	10. Ch9: A Welcome Home Surprise in America

**Chapter 9: A Welcome Home Surprise in America**

Anastasia could feel her heart pounding as she took the steps down the jet she had ridden on. _This is it_ , she thought to herself while looking around the area. One thing she noticed upon entering the new state was that it was very hot unlike Maine. It was even hotter than it would be in Moscow, but she embraced it rather than let her mind complain about it.

The Russian girl went over to baggage first to claim her belongings before turning around. As Anneliese had told her, their father would be picking her up to bring her home. It took only a minute or so until her eyes made contact with a blonde she had seen in the multiple photos that Anneliese had shown her.

"Hey 'Lise!" She heard be called out as the man was waving out to her, "Welcome home, kiddo!"

 _Oh gosh, there he is…_ Anastasia could feel her heart leap out of her chest at that very moment. That was her father - _her_ father! The one who her mother was once deeply in love with and had her and Anneliese with. By the look on his face, he seemed almost like an excited child with his daughter finally returning after long last.

It took her less than a second before she was walking through the crowds of people who had just exited the jet as well. She immediately approached the blonde man, whose glasses were on the top of his head, he wore a simple white dress shirt, some jeans, a silver watch and some normal sneakers. All-in-all, he was exactly how she imagined him; the stereotypical American dad.

"Get into these arms you 'lil punk," Alfred had smiled at 'Anneliese' now and held out his arms to her. It was at that very moment where Anastasia had dropped her belongings and indeed jumped into her father's arms in a tight embrace.

"Dad…" _Finally…_ She couldn't help but to think to herself as she was picked up by the other and spun around. Alfred had held his daughter tightly; placing kisses on her cheek. The smile on Anastasia's face was enough to show just how happy she was to be with him after long last. It may have seemed to be eight weeks for Alfred without seeing his daughter, but he had no idea how long it _truly_ had been.

Once she was put down, Alfred had picked up her belongings and couldn't help but to bend his legs a bit so they were at a similar height. He pinched her cheek; making Anastasia blush in embarrassment while he chuckled, "Oh 'Lise, I hope you had a lousy time at that camp because you are not going back next year," He expressed while wrapping an arm around her, leading her out of the crowded area, "It was so quiet without ya! I missed you way too much, so you better not go again."

Anastasia found herself laughing to herself. Her father was really the kind of a jokester. Then again, it was an expected response from a parent who hasn't seen their child the entire summer.

As the two walked, Alfred kept his focus up ahead so he could see where they were going, "What happened to you, Anneliese?" He chuckled and placed a hand on her head now, "Did you get taller? And without letting me know?!" Of course, he was only joking again. In response to the question though, all Anastasia did was shrug innocently since she didn't even know if she did grow in the first place. Maybe it was the fact that she was a bit taller than Anneliese? In all truths, she was unsure.

"So… what's up, dad?" Anastasia pulled out the American accent she had learned through Anneliese. It was much more difficult than it seemed, seeing that there were certain words that she had difficulty pronouncing. But that was only due to the fact that she was a child that knew many languages, "I mean like, how's uncle Matt and everyone?"

"Great, everybody's great. Can't wait to see you," Alfred responded as the two eventually approached a large pick-up truck that had been parked in the parking lot of the airport. He opened the door for the other before placing her belongings in the back of the vehicle, "Everyone's very excited to see you." Once 'Anneliese' was buckled in her seat, Alfred had climbed into the driver's side of the car and started up the engine, "You know 'Lise, eight weeks is too damn long. A _lot_ has happened since you were gone."

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Anastasia rested her hands in her lap as she giggled to herself at the response. She could only imagine back in Moscow too, a lot had happened during her absence, "A lot has happened to me too, dad. I mean, I feel like I'm practically a new woman."

This made her father laugh in response. It was a cute response to any parent, so he laughed rightfully so. However, one thing that he did notice was how intently the other had been staring at him. So upon approaching a stoplight, he turned to face her, "What, did I cut myself while shaving this morning?" He began as he reached over to pinch her nose gently, making the girl burst out laughing instantly.

"No, no - it's not that," Anastasia responded once the other had let go of her nose; her cheeks still reddened from embarrassment. She shook her head as she spoke, which made Alfred raise a brow in curiosity to hear what his daughter would respond with, "It just feels like I haven't seen you in a long time…" She cut herself off before correcting what she meant to say, "I mean, yeah, eight weeks is a good time away from home."

Once the light had turned into a green one, Alfred had moved forward with the vehicle while listening to 'Anneliese's' response. He was nodding in agreement with her about it being very long, however, Anastasia didn't notice this due to seeing where they were.

Almost instantly, the setting shifted from large buildings around the area to a beautiful scenery of trees, large fields, and an open road. She was aware that they lived in a vineyard, but she wasn't expecting the environment to have so much nature surrounding it. Anastasia found herself pressed against the window in amazement. This was something a person would never see in Moscow, seeing that the area was a city and there was always something going on.

"Oh, by the way," Alfred began as he reached into the back seat and put his glasses on his face, followed by a white cowboy hat on. This made Anastasia's brows rise in amusement, but she didn't comment on it, "Thanks for all of the letters," He said in a sarcastic tone, "I'm glad to see that the stationary you begged for was put into good use."

This made Anastasia freeze. Did Anneliese really not write to their father the entire camp? Anastasia had been writing a letter at least once a week to her mother - but Anneliese couldn't find the time to do the same? Perhaps it was because the two were so busy with the plan that she may have forgotten about it. Still, she knew Anneliese would owe her one for covering her this time.

"We meant to write, dad-" Anastasia insisted as she gave out a nervous chuckle; trying to reassure the other that it wasn't intentional.

Alfred paused when hearing the response and couldn't help but to give a quick glance at the other, " _We_?"

"Oh!" Accidentally almost spilled the beans again… Luckily this would be easy for her to recover from, "Me and my friend. I met this girl at camp and we became really close," The entire time Alfred listened to her, he nodded in response with a smile on his face. Anastasia was surprised to see just how much the man smiled. If she were talking to her mother and was questioned about how she didn't write, she wouldn't hear the end of it, "We're practically like sisters."

This made Alfred turn his head over to Anastasia with his brows risen in amusement. It was a response he wasn't expecting to hear, but it was one that did make sense for any pair of girls that became close at summer camp, "That's great. I'm glad to hear."

Anastasia nodded and turned her head towards the shield of the car so she could continue to admire the scenery. Even though they were almost at the house, she wanted to admire the drive as long as she could, "She was a very lovely girl."

Those words were enough to get Alfred to burst out laughing. Thus, Anastasia became confused. Why was he laughing all of the sudden? She was telling the truth. This 'friend' she made was probably one of the closest she'll have for a long time, now knowing the truth between the both of them.

" _Lovely_?" Alfred turned to his daughter again once he managed to calm down from his laughter. It was honestly the funniest thing hearing 'Anneliese' of all people sound so proper, "All of the sudden, you're so proper?" He chuckled and adjusted his hat before reaching over and grabbing his daughter's hand. Anastasia looked at him in confusion as the other examined her hands, "You may be using proper words, but you're still biting your nails, huh missy?"

This was her opportunity to shift the conversation. Anastasia pulled her hand back after a moment and nodded, "You noticed, dad!"

"Of course I'd notice," The man responded after taking a turn on a private road. This was enough of an indicator that they were getting closer as the seconds passed, "You've been biting them since you could chew."

In response to the claim, Anastasia chuckled nervously. It was probably the same that Anneliese would do if she was called out on something - and to be called out, it seemed to be a frequent thing that occurred with Anneliese. Even at camp, Anastasia would call her sister out on the silliest things, which made sense… Seeing that Anneliese was a very silly girl, "And thus, I've decided it'd a horrid habit and it'll be best to stop."

"First lovely, now thus, and then horrid habit?" Laughter came from Alfred once again. Anastasia wanted to facepalm herself. Sometimes she found it unique with having such a proper way of speaking English… But at times like these, especially with being American, she was putting her American roots to shame with not using the slang-kind of English, as her mother would describe it, with her own father. "Did I send my daughter to summer camp or preparatory school?"

It was only two seconds after Alfred had said this that the both of them were laughing. Now Anastasia understood why Anneliese and their father had such a good bond. It wasn't always the strict parenting type of relationship - it was almost as if they were friends rather than daughter and father. It silently made her wish that after the plan came to an end, maybe Alfred would be able to see her as Anastasia and not as Anneliese.

Anastasia calmed her laughter after a moment and gasped now when seeing the sign they had just driven through, "Oh my god!" Jones' Vineyard - this had to be place. The vineyard where the grapes were grown to make the wine for her father's business… It was so beautiful!

"Now there's my Anneliese; startin' to sound like your normal self again." Alfred began as they pulled up into the driveway of a large home. This made Anastasia's jaw drop at the sight of it. She knew the home she had back home was relatively large, but this one? It had to be at least ten times bigger than the one back in Moscow!

Alfred had parked the car once they had arrived. Without letting another second pass, Anastasia had climbed out of the car and exited the garage where her father had pulled in to park the vehicle. The first sounds that met her ears though, was the sounds of a dog. She froze in place now, because that was one thing that Anneliese _definitely_ forgot to tell her. The next time she saw her sister, she would make sure to whack her on the head for not telling her that their father had a dog.

"Anneliese!" A voice came from the entrance of the garage. Anastasia turned around now in response and it was there that her eyes were met with a face that was almost similar to her father's. In this case, the man who stood at the entrance was a much shorter one (Not too short), was a darker blonde with wavy hair and darker blue eyes. That had to be Uncle Matt; she was sure of it.

Before even having the chance to say hello, her uncle had came up to her and gave her a tight hug. Anastasia returned the gesture and was about to speak, but of course the other beat her to it, "Hello gorgeous!" He began in happy laughter; giving her a kiss on the forehead while spinning her around, "Look at you!" Anastasia looked up at him now once being put down; feeling a smile draw to her lips as she remained quiet. The way Anneliese depicted Matthew was almost as if he were a quieter type of man. But she supposed that with family, it was when his true colors came out, "Aw, I missed you so much." Another hug was given before he leaned down and whispered into her ear, "I'm sure your old man was insisting that you don't go next year, but don't listen to him. You're a grown girl and need adventure in your life."

"Okay," Anastasia nodded with a small smile on her lips before following the other inside the house.

"Oh, are you hungry?" Matthew began as he opened the doors to the large home. If Anastasia was just amazed by the exterior of the house, she was just amazed by the interior of it too. From just stepping into the place, it was almost as if she had stepped inside a palace! Well, at least, a large home was her depiction of a palace in the states, "Your grandfather came by to drop off some crêpes he made, but had to leave because he had things to tend to. Don't worry though, he'll be back soon because he also wants to see you." In response to this, Anastasia simply shrugged with a smile. It wasn't the kind of response Anneliese would make at the moment, but Anastasia truly didn't know what to say, "Why are you so quiet?"

"N-Nothing!" Anastasia responded quickly as she slipped off her shoes and placed them beside the rest of the outdoor shoes that were next to the door. Followed by this, she took off the jean jacket she had worn due to it being a bit warm and tying it around her waist; revealing the yellow tank top she wore at the moment, "I'm just so happy to be home-"

"-Did I hear crêpes?" A sudden voice interrupted Anastasia as she turned around to see her father. This time, he had been carrying her belongings. He placed the belongings at the staircase to which Anastasia presumed led to the bedrooms of the house, "Well c'mon, where are they, bro?"

" _Oui_ , on the stove," Matthew responded before instantly Alfred's face lit up almost similar to a child. This made Anastasia cover her mouth and laugh softly into it. She couldn't imagine living with her twin; well, technically she did for the summer. But her father and Matthew? It must have been so interesting to share a house with a family member. She could tell at an instant that Matthew seemed to be the one with the manners, while Alfred is the one that while he does all the business related stuff in the house, he always had his inner child.

Alas, once Alfred was gone, Matthew had wrapped an arm around his niece's shoulders and led her to the porch of the first floor of the house. Once outside, Anastasia couldn't help but notice that a table was set out with a couple of plates. It was a beautiful day outside, so perhaps the plan was to eat outside to celebrate her homecoming. But, there was one thing she noticed too. There was one plate for her, a plate for her father, a plate for Matthew, then a plate for her grandfather… But what was with the fifth plate?

"Something's changed about you, Anneliese," Matthew began as he approached the said table and poured a glass of lemonade out, followed by handing it to his niece. Anastasia nodded in thanks as she took a sip out of the cold beverage, "I can't put my finger on it, but something has definitely changed."

Anastasia smiled at the other as she finished her glass of lemonade. Honestly, it was delicious to her - it must've been homemade. Without any hesitation, she approached the pitcher of lemonade that sat on the table and poured herself another glass, "Really?" She turned to face the other with her new glass in hand, "It's just the same ol' me." With her free hand, she hid it behind her back without the other looking. She crossed over her middle finger to her index finger, all while maintaining an innocent smile on her face, "Honest!"

That was when she heard it. The sounds of barking again. Looking over her uncle's shoulder, her eyes made contact with a yellow Labrador retriever immediately making his way towards her. But instead of pouncing on her as he normally would when Anneliese was home, he instead simply barked at her. Each bark made Anastasia jump, followed by chuckle nervously as her uncle stared at her in confusion.

"What's wrong, Franklin?" Matthew put his glass of lemonade down to approach the k-9; gently patting his head to get the barking dog to calm down, "It's Anneliese!"

"Oh, it's probably just the smell of camp," Anastasia immediately responded as she reached over to pet the dog gently, who in response did calm down once being exposed to the new scent. One thing that Anastasia realized at that very moment was that dogs had very good sense of smell, so if he could easily tell that she really wasn't Anneliese… Hopefully it won't pose a problem, right? By the look of the dog calming down after she gave him a couple of pets, everything seemed to be okay now. Matthew did respond with a nod of agreement to her statement, so he must've believed it too.

Anastasia finished her second glass of lemonade now and placed it back on the table for her to return to later. From there, she proceeded back inside, but not through the same entrance she and Matthew had came through to enter the balcony. This entrance led to the living room, where Anastasia looked around and admired the beauty that came with it. Back in Moscow, the living room was big, yes, but it also felt cramped with the amount of furniture there was. There was also the fact that the ceilings were very high too, which gave the room even more of a spacey-homey feel to the environment, "Wow…" She couldn't help but to speak in her native tongue in Russian, "It's even better than the pictures…"

"Okay kiddo," Anastasia's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps making an appearance in the living room. She turned around and watched her uncle enter the entrance of the living room. Her eyes looked up to meet his as he sat down on the couch and gave her a smile, "What do you want to do first? You wanna eat, then unpack? Or we can unpack and then eat… Or we can eat while we unpack."

This made Anastasia choke on her breathing. It wasn't that she was startled or anything, but mainly shocked. Can a person go and eat while doing things at the same time? She was only allowed to eat in the dining room - nowhere else! Even if it was for a small snack, she had to eat in the dining room because a dining room was meant for eating, just as a living room was meant for lounging and a bedroom was meant for sleeping.

Anastasia nervously rubbed her neck in response, "I can eat in my room?" She asked, which brought a dumbfounded face of confusion to arise on Matthew's face.

"...Yeah? Did you forget?" He asked with a hint of laughter in his tone before standing up with his arms crossed. The suspicion of how 'Anneliese' had changed from camp really was hitting him, but as said before, he was very unsure of exactly what was different. Alas, he didn't question it further despite it ringing in his head. He laughed off her question, thinking it was very cute since for years now, the child would always eat in her room whenever given the opportunity.

Their conversation though was interrupted when a familiar voice filled the living room setting, "Hey 'Lise!" It was there that Anastasia turned around to once again meet the face of her father. This time instead of him wearing his cowboy hat from before and carrying her belongings, he had been holding a can of _coca-cola_ and a plate of the crêpes that were mentioned before, "When you're done unpacking, come on down to the pool. There's someone I want you to meet."

"Okay dad!" Anastasia responded with her brows risen slightly. Meet who, exactly?

"Okay squirt, see you in a bit," Alfred said before stepping outside once again. It was when she heard it.

Giggling. Not just any kind of giggling, but from… A woman? Anastasia couldn't help but peek from one of the windows that connected to the entrance that her father had taken to get outside. Her expression went from a smile to a bit of a concerned one. Oh, she most certainly didn't like where this was going.

Anastasia and Matthew headed upstairs where Anneliese's room resided. The room itself was a very tidy one. The walls in the room was a light yellow tone, her curtains were white and she had the standard items that would be in a bedroom; dresser, bed, television, so nothing too different compared to her room back home. Except, her room didn't have a video game console and a multitude of stuffed animals decorated at the head of the bed. She knew Anneliese really liked stuffed animals, but she didn't realize just exactly how _much_.

"Who is it that dad wants me to meet?" Anastasia broke the ice now when her uncle took out her duffle bag and began taking his niece's items out of it so they could be washed. Hearing the sudden question made his eyes roll a bit since if there was one thing that 'Anneliese' missed over the summer, it was the new addition who decided to enter the household.

"Anneliese, it's none of my business if your dad decides to make a fool out of himself, which he always is doing. He's a big boy, I guess." This made Anastasia laugh slightly to herself. Anneliese made sure to express that their father wasn't the best at making decisions, and once again it seemed like he did it again… Only this time with a person she had no idea how she was affiliated with him. It was there that Matthew finished taking out 'Anneliese's' clothes and proceeded with tossing them into the dirty laundry hamper. "Her name is Alice Kirkland."

Alice Kirkland… By the last name, Anastasia could tell that the woman must've been European. From the United Kingdom, maybe? Why would her father had affiliations with someone from England? Instead, she remained quiet as her uncle continued to explain, "She's his new assistant. Your father thought that work was piling up on him with deadlines, so he hired her after you left for camp to make the task much easier… But if you ask me, she's doing a better job at selling herself than the grapes on this vineyard."

Anastasia did _not_ like hearing where this was going. Upon noticing a camera on the bed, she reached over for it and approached the window to get a better view of the pool. That's when she saw it.

This woman had been holding onto her father's hand. Not only was she very close to him, but what made Anastasia want to gag was the sight of her kissing his neck and lowering her hands to the big no man zone. Oh no, no no no no… This is not good at all. Not good for herself, and not good for the plan that was at hand. She brought the camera viewfinder to her eyes and adjusted the lens so she could get a better close-up to what she was seeing. It was there that she saw kisses be engaged between the two, the woman's arms around her father's neck as he laughed and returned the hand gesture to her hips.

This was a nightmare only beginning.

"Look, you and I know your father isn't a suave kind of guy with the sexy abs, slicked back hair and muscles to show off." Matthew continued with a bit of a sigh. By the tone of the other's voice, Anastasia could tell that her uncle was not happy about what was going on between this 'assistant' and her father, "So what I'm wondering is what a sexy, young woman sees in a guy that walks around with a cowboy hat, a Captain America t-shirt and enjoys fast-food any chance he can have it?" As she listened to the other, Anastasia had already moved away from the window in disgust; going over to put a bathing suit on seeing that her father did request to see her down at the pool, "But then I realized there are a million reasons why that girl's giggling."

Anastasia paused while retrieving a swimsuit and looked over at Matthew. One idea in particular popped into her mind when her uncle had said that, and she sure as hell hoped it wasn't what she thought it was.

"When she was sitting with him at the bank the other day…" Matthew looked over at his niece; now crossing his arms over his chest. Just the look on his face made Anastasia's face go from disgust to a bit of anger welling up in her eyes, "The smirk on her face gave it away. And of course, your dumbass of a dad didn't even realize it."

"So, you mean…" Anastasia frowned when hearing this. Of all people, she wouldn't think that her dad would go after a woman like that! "You think she doesn't really like him?"

"Eh…" Matthew picked up the laundry hamper and motioned his hands towards the door so she could follow him. One so she could go to the bathroom to change into a swimsuit while he dealt with her laundry, "What do I know? All I'll tell you though hun, is to be careful."

To be careful… If her uncle was telling her to be careful, what exactly did she have to be careful about when meeting this woman? All she knew was at that moment she needed to back off her father and go back to wherever she came from. Whether it be England like she speculated or another part of California, to her, her father was taken. He was taken specifically by her and her sister, and no one else.

Anastasia exited the bedroom with her uncle and made her way to the bathroom as directed to. She changed into one of Anneliese's bathing suits that she found in a drawer, followed by slipping on a t-shirt that had the members of the Avengers on it. That's one thing she remembered about Anneliese too… She and their father were really big with comic books. Specifically, comic books that came from Marvel.

Once dressed, the Russian girl made her way down the stairs to the pool where her father had been waiting for her. This time, the mysterious woman and he weren't as giggly and close as before. Perhaps it was because they knew she arrived, and Anastasia was not in the best mood upon witnessing what she saw through her bedroom window.

"There's my girl," Alfred stood up from one of the tanning chairs and approached Anastasia when she arrived. On the inside, Anastasia was rolling her eyes at her father at that very moment. But on the outside, she smiled as she allowed him to take her hand to lead her to the mysterious woman who managed to catch her eye earlier, "Honey, I want you to meet a good friend of mine," A good friend of his, hm? _More of a friend with sexy benefits,_ Anastasia gagged to herself mentally, "'Lise, this is Alice Kirkland."

It was soon that the girl was met with the eyes of the woman. Long blonde hair, green eyes, and her hair pulled back into low pigtails while to top it all off, she wore a white bikini to match the theme of her father's pool. On the top of her head, she rested her glasses, while in hand she had been holding onto a glass of what Anastasia presumed to be orange juice with possibly some rum in it.

"Hi there," The woman spoke to the child with a grin on her lips. Oh gosh, so she _was_ English. Someone better give her an award after this, because as per usual, Anastasia was correct on the assumptions she had made back inside the house just based on the name her uncle told her.

Anastasia pushed up the sunglasses she wore up onto the top of her head. It was there that she returned the gesture with a smile and crossing her arms, "Hi…. Alice Kirkland."

It was there that the woman couldn't help but to laugh softly hearing Anastasia's tone. Alfred the entire time simply stood behind his daughter; keeping his hands on her shoulders while occasionally glancing down at the very well-behaved child in front of him.

"Wow…" Alice began as she exchanged eye contact with Alfred, "I'm so happy to finally be meeting the famous Anneliese Jones. I have looked forward to this all summer." Proper tone, very polite so far… The woman didn't seem bad. But Anastasia, her mother was _much_ better, "Oh Alfie…" Alfie? It was at that moment where she wished someone could just push her into the pool beside her at that moment. That was something she never wanted to ever imagine hearing in her entire life, "...She's adorable! You know Anneliese, the way your father talked about you, I expected to meet a little girl… But you are so grown up."

"I'll be twelve in December," Anastasia responded in a polite tone. Even if she didn't like the woman already, she still had to play nice-daughter seeing that her father was right behind her and all. It was then when an idea popped into her head, "How old are you?"

The sudden question made the two adults laugh. Alfred because he was nervous that the question had insulted Alice, and Alice well, she simply found the question itself cute, "Twenty-four." She responded, to which Anastasia immediately looked at her father in amusement. From what she knew, back then her father and mother were married at a relatively young age of twenty-two. They were both now in their early thirties, so for her father to go after someone much younger than he was…

"That's only thirteen years older than me," The Russian girl responded with a small nod, almost as if she were approving the age, but at the same time she was giving a look to her oblivious father that said, 'Really'? Well, it made sense though. With reading a lot of novels about money-hungry women, usually they were very young, so it would make sense why she'd go after her father despite he being more of a child than an adult, "How old are you again, dad?"

"Okkkayyy," Alfred covered his daughter's mouth with another chuckle before smiling at the woman in front of him, "Wow, suddenly so interested in age, huh Anneliese?" He joked, which made Anastasia laugh in between the covered hand while Alice simply smiled at the two. Then again, Anastasia believed she had a right to know how old her father exactly was, right? "Listen, I'm gonna go inside to get something to eat and some champagne."

Anastasia turned her head to her father in confusion. What she didn't know was that champagne was used in the states to celebrate an event. To celebrate in Russia, they used vodka. "What for?" She asked once her mouth was released from her father's hand.

"Your homecoming of course," Alice responded before Alfred had left the scene to indeed retrieve the said items. Anastasia watched as her father left before turning away from the Englishwoman; removing the shirt she wore so she could take a dip into the pool. Alice seemed to notice the shy behavior that came from 'Anneliese', so to break the ice she had asked, "You know, I have never heard a man talk about his daughter the way Alfred talks about you,"

Thank goodness she didn't say 'Alfie' again. Anastasia swore if she heard that name again, she'd ask her father to push her into the pool.

"You two are very close, hm?" Alice leaned forward now, curious to see how the child would respond with. One thing that Anastasia supposed that was nice about this woman was that she was very proper and didn't really use the English-slang that came with Americans whenever they talked. That still didn't change the opinion she had formed about the Englishwoman, though.

Regardless, another nod was given by Anastasia as she sat down on the edge of the pool. She dipped her feet into the water first just so her body could adjust to the temperature. Once she believed she was at a reasonable state to jump in, she stood up, "Well you know, we're closer than close," She responded to the other by turning her head to face her. It was there that a smile was given, "We're all each other has!"

With her knees bent, Anastasia jumped into the air and held onto her body as she went in for the cannonball. Loud splashes could be heard from above the water as she landed, along with small shrieks that came from the woman who sat on the tanning bed. Plan to get little sexy Alice wet = a success.

"I'm so sorry, Alice!" Anastasia called out as she popped her head from the water, only to see the woman reaching for a towel and quickly drying herself off. Why was she freaking out over a little bit of water? She was in a bathing suit too, so there was no need to panic in the first place, "I didn't mean to."

"It's alright dear," Alice had responded while reaching for a towel to quickly dry herself off, "At least I'm in a bathing suit too, so it's not a problem." Now she was acknowledging the fact that she was in the appropriate swimwear? Did the woman even plan on going swimming in the first place? As she watched the woman dry herself off, Anastasia reached for a nearby floaty and climbed on top of it, that way her body could dry through the California sun that shined above them.

Once dry, Alice folded and placed the towel where she had retrieved it back into its place. She took a couple of steps towards the child now, who had her sunglasses on her face while relaxing in the pool, "Hey, guess what?" Anastasia couldn't help but to sigh heavily on the inside. Oh, this woman better have something amusing to say or she was leaving, "Your daddy took me riding the other day and he let me ride your horse. I hope that's okay with you."

Oh, she should have not told her that. Anneliese would have probably responded at the moment with a whatever, but this was Anastasia that Alice was speaking to. A terrible idea had just popped into the child's head. Thus, resulting in her to push up her sunglasses once more and sit up slightly in the floaty.

"Sure, that's alright with me." Anastasia waved her hand up and down in a gesture to show that she didn't mind. But the idea that she had in mind would contribute to what she was going with this, "Sprout is used to having other women riding her…." A bit of a smirk formed on the girl's lips. But the look on Alice's face, she went from smiling to a one that said, 'other women'? "I mean, not that you're strange or anything… Actually, compared to the others, you are relatively normal."

A bit of a nervous laughter came from Alice upon hearing the statement that the child made. Other women? What exactly did she mean? It was there that she stood up and crossed her arms; taking a step closer to the pool with interest beaming in her eyes, "Others? What others?"

The idea was once again a success. Now, Anastasia had the woman in the grasp of her hands and she sure planned to have fun with it, "You want the 411?"

"What's the 411?" Alice questioned.

"The information…." Anastasia slid off the floaty now so she could swim over to the edge of the pool so she could have better eye contact with the older woman. As she stood by the edge, she used her elbows to support herself while her feet kicked underwater to keep her afloat, "You know, the lowdown of the other women my dad's been with." This was obviously false. There were no other women that Alfred had been with since meeting her mother and then Alice… Or so she thought.

Anastasia pushed herself from the edge as she laid on her back in the water now. She had her hands resting underneath her head while her feet continued to kick so she could float, "Can't say I blame you," She began with an innocent giggle to the tongue, "I'd like to know if I were lady twenty-eight… No wait, I mean, twenty-nine in a man's life."

The expression on Alice's face became a bit more serious upon hearing this, "I'm, number twenty-nine?"

"Yeah…" Oh, she could not wait to tell Anneliese later about what she had done to this woman who decided to enter her father's life. Make her panic a little bit. It wasn't a bad lie, but it was sure enough to get the Englishwoman's attention at a much higher percentage, "It's always the same routine. Horseback riding through the vineyard, romantic dinners with his special reserved wine-"

"I'm back!" The sound of her father's voice met her ears as Anastasia was cut off from her sentence. Alice didn't move from her place when Alfred had returned, but instead kept her focus on the child who was looking back at her with a grin. "I couldn't find any champagne, but I did find my special, reserved wine,"

Immediately in response, Alice's brows rose in shock when discovering that the child was right. All Anastasia did was giggle softly as she looked at her father with an innocent smile; indicating that nothing really important had taken place when the two were left alone.

The smile on his daughter's face truly did make Alfred happy that soon he couldn't help but to ask, "So, did you girls find anything interesting to talk about while I was gone?" He asked, but no one had given a response. Instead, Anastasia had dipped her head underwater while Alice gave a small eyeroll before turning to face the American, "...Does that mean yes?"

A small amount of laughter came from the Englishwoman, "It sure does."


	11. Ch 10: Conflict Arises

**Chapter 10: Conflict Arises**

The sound of a phone ringing filled the large home. It was the morning in Moscow, so to have phone calls at a relatively early time was understandable and considered even normal in the household. Unfortunately for the caller, everyone was busy to pick up the phone.

"Can someone please pick that up?" Natalya's voice came from upstairs in her room where she had still been getting ready for the day. Even though she worked from home most of the time, she did always try her best to have mornings off so that way she could spend it with her family for breakfast.

Anneliese had been in the kitchen with her uncle preparing breakfast. While he was in charge of preparing some fried eggs with kolbasa, 'Anastasia' was in charge of peeling the fruit and bringing the prepared fruit to the table. The second the phone went off and she heard her mother's voice, she looked at her uncle and asked politely if she could go answer, to which he answered with a nod.

Life in the Braginsky home was _much_ different than it was back home with her father. One of the biggest differences was how the schedules were laid out, and also the rules. For example, if she wanted to eat a snack, she couldn't eat in the living room. She had to always eat in the dining room and once she was finished, she had to clean up after herself. There was bedtime too. On weekends she was only allowed to stay up until midnight, but on weekdays she had to be in bed no later than an hour or two after supper. If she was caught awake, then she would have to spend an extra hour in bed in the morning.

All she couldn't help was to be grateful that Anastasia had warned her about all of the rules while they were still together. If she were to enter the house without a clue of how things worked, she'd give herself away easily to her mother that she really wasn't Anastasia.

The first couple of days since her arrival, she spent it with her mother. This would be done by either doing chores with her, going out to run errands, or even go to work with her at the studio. When it was days where her mother had to go to the laboratory she worked at, then she would spend the day with either her aunt or uncle, which she didn't mind since they always managed to keep her occupied too.

Even that morning when her uncle had asked her if she wanted to assist him with making breakfast, it never ends. And honestly, she loved it. It beat experiencing a boring day at her father's house where she couldn't do much other than go swimming or horseback riding, or even staying inside to play video games. She liked the idea of helping her family out when she could. Even though she couldn't back in California, she made sure to enjoy the experience with her family in Russia while she was at it.

What she wasn't expecting though when to retrieve the phone was to see her aunt beat her to it. Almost immediately, her face paled upon hearing her aunt speak in confusion.

"Anastasia?!" Katya began in shock when she spoke into the phone.

Immediately, Anneliese interrupted this by approaching her quickly, "Yes, Tetya?" She asked innocently while tilting her head.

This was enough to confuse the Ukrainian as she looked down at the child in front of her. She then turned back to the phone and proceeded to cover the microphone with her hand, "I swore it was just you on the other line…" She whispered before lowering her hand and clearing her throat; shifting the language of conversation to English, "Yes, I'm sorry. Whom do you wish to speak to?" She began with a heavy accent. On the inside, Anneliese was giggling since honestly, it was adorable to see her aunt attempt to speak English. It only showed that her mother and uncle were better at speaking it, "What - speak to Anastasia?"

Anneliese looked up at her aunt now, patiently waiting for the phone to be handed to her. She didn't want to address her aunt's confusion, but by her tone of voice, it was enough to reveal that the Ukrainian truly thought that she was speaking to her niece on the other line. What confused Katyusha though was that her niece was right in front of her!

"A.. uh, Elizabeth, wants to speak with you?" Katyusha began as she handed over the phone to the child, "She sounds just like your twin!"

"My twin?" This made Anneliese laugh nervously and cover the microphone with her hand. There was no need to address the whole twin deal now. She was playing Anastasia, and Anastasia didn't know that she had a twin. It was there that she shook her head innocently; dismissing the statement that the other had given her. "That's very funny, Tetya. It's just a friend, no need to worry."

Katyusha had been just about to ask something else, but seeing that 'Anastasia' only found the statement funny, she shrugged off the thought. That was right - 'Anastasia' didn't know about her twin, and probably will continue to be unaware of it… So she thought. It was there that she left Anastasia in the hallway now on the phone, though kept a close eye on her in suspicion.

"Elizabeth? Oh, hello there." Anneliese played along with the Elizabeth name that came from the phone, "How are you doing?"

"Hey, how's it going over there?" Anastasia had been speaking in a lowered whisper once the phone was given to her sister. If she had only expected that her aunt would be the one to pick up the phone first, she would not have exposed herself that easily with her normal accent.

Anneliese was truly happy to hear from her sister. Even though it was a close call with their aunt almost finding out, everything seemed to be okay now that she had left the room, "Everything's good. Elizabeth, could you hold on for just one moment?"

Hold on for a moment? Maybe for a couple of seconds, but Anastasia wasn't talking to directly check in on Anneliese with things. She had to break the news about the new woman that suddenly entered their father's life, "Okay, but hurry 'Lise, I have to tell you something now."

If they were to have a conversation, it couldn't be out in the open like this. Their aunt was just in the other room, and easily their mother or uncle could enter the room that Anneliese was in. If she was speaking in a normal American accent, that would raise flags instantly. Luckily there was a closet right next to the phone, so ever so quietly the child opened the door stepped inside before closing it.

"Okay, now I can talk," Anneliese knelt down onto the ground with the phone in hand, "Oh my god, mom is absolutely amazing!" Were the first words that came from the girl's mouth. A small chuckle came from Anastasia on the other line; a bit glad to hear that her sister was enjoying her time so far in Moscow, "I seriously cannot believe I spent my entire life without knowing her! She's beautiful and smart, and fun when she isn't angry, and I LOVE the gowns she designs-"

A heavy sigh came from the other line. Anastasia could happily talk the same about their father as well, but right now there was something more important to be addressed at hand.

"-I also managed to get her talking about how she and dad met too." Anneliese continued; the expression on her face just lighting up at the thought of the conversation her mother and she had a couple of days before.

Anastasia decided she let her sister talk enough. Before Anneliese had a chance to continue talking, she interrupted her, "Anneliese! I'm glad to hear that you're having a good time, but we have a major problem here. You're going to have to bring mama out here immediately!"

"Immediately!?" Anneliese stood up in the closet with her arms crossed at this point. As she stood there, she kept the phone pressed to her ear. She didn't want to let her mother know who she really was just yet! She only got to spend a couple of days so far with Natalya; there was no way she wanted to let that end just yet, "Are you nuts!? I've only been here for three days, it's not enough time. I'm just getting to know her too! I can't. I won't-"

"-BUT THIS IS AN EMERGENCY!" Anastasia shouted from the other line. This was enough to get Anneliese to silence and listen to her sister calmly. If Anastasia was shouting, then that means whatever she called about, it was very important, "Dad's in love!"

Anneliese froze in place when she heard this. Silence came from her line of the phone call for a couple of seconds, before laughter came. Anastasia held the phone away from her ear during that laughing period with Anneliese, especially with how loud she was laughing. All she wished she could do at that moment was tell her sister to quiet down. If she was hiding, their mother, aunt or even uncle could hear her easily from laughing that loudly.

"Get out of here!" Anneliese tried to calm herself down from her small laughing fit. The laughing fit had been that bad, that her face became very red and tears had welled up in her eyes. Their dad in love? That was absolutely hilarious! "Good one, Ana. But dad doesn't fall in love. Don't joke about it because it's way too funny."

….Did she see it as a joke? Did Anneliese really think that she'd be lying to her? Anastasia sighed heavily as she sat down in the bathroom floor now. All she did in response to hearing her sister's statement was to mutter, "You're an idiot."

"Hey, that's not nice."

"I'm serious, Anneliese." Anastasia's tone of voice shifted from a more annoyed one to a much more serious one. This definitely caught Anneliese's attention as she now was paying much closer attention the phone and not laughing again, "There's this woman he's been spending a lot of time with - and I saw it with my own eyes. He's always holding her hand, kissing her neck, and letting her touch the no-no zone. It's gotten to the point where I wish someone could come gauge my eyes out!"

This made Anneliese shiver in disgust at the statement. Not only based off of the description her sister had been giving her, but hearing the part of the gauge her eyes out, "That's gross, Ana." She sighed heavily before thinking for a moment. There was nothing she could really do with the situation at hand. She wasn't in America right now, and she sure as hell didn't want to be back anytime soon, "Well, do what you have to do, then. Sabotage the dates, try to break them up - do whatever you have to."

"I'm trying," Anastasia responded and approached the window that was in the bathroom. She knew her father hadn't gone to bed yet for a fact. Based on seeing the fireplace lit outside with him and Alice sitting around it; holding each other and snuggling… It was enough to confirm her suspicions, "I'm in a bit of a disadvantage, though. He doesn't seem to realize that the woman's only after his money, and even uncle Matthew seems to be the only one who's noticed! Anneliese, you have to get back here _now_."

The more and more Anastasia pestered her about having to come back to the states, the more Anneliese wanted to hang up the phone. She listened to her sister beg about needing help for the situation, but right now she didn't want to deal with it. The American began rummaging through the pockets of whom she presumed to be her uncle's coats, and that's when she found it. A single piece of candy that was still wrapped up. She didn't need the candy, per say - only the wrapper would be needed. "Anastasia, I can't." Anneliese began as she unwrapped the piece of candy, "I want more time with mom."

That was when she took the said wrapper and crinkled it around the microphone on the phone. On the other end, Anastasia couldn't help but to be startled by the sudden sound as she looked at the mobile device in her hand. Were they breaking up?

"Anastasia? You still there?" Anneliese began with a fake tone as she proceeded to crinkle the plastic wrapper more, "I think I'm losing you!"

"Anneliese, I'm still here!"

After Anastasia had spoken, that was when the click was made. The end of the call, and the end of trying to get help from her sister. Anastasia sighed heavily as she lowered the phone and turned away from the window where she had been examining her father and his new mistress. It seemed like she was indeed alone now with the plan, "Thanks for the help, 'Lise." She sighed and exited the bathroom where she put the phone away and proceeded to her room. With the major time zone difference, it was very late at night in California, so she knew she had to head to bed as soon as she could.

Once she got her sister off of her tail, Anneliese smiled in victory before slipping the empty wrapper into the pocket of the dress she wore. She was quiet when she opened the door of the closet to get out and put the phone away… But of course, as Anastasia had warned her, her laughter didn't get away so easily within the household.

It took Anneliese one glance up to see not only her mother staring down at her, but her uncle with an apron on and carrying a plate of the fruits 'Anastasia' was supposed to bring to the dining table, and her aunt with her arms crossed with a similar concerned face from earlier.

This was not how she wanted things to go.

"What the hell are you doing?" Natalya was the first to break the ice as she knelt down and helped her daughter off from the ground, followed by closing the closet. By the look on her mother's face, Anneliese could tell that she was just as confused as her siblings - and rightfully so.

Anneliese panicked at the moment with being unsure of how to respond to the sudden question, "It's uh… Tradition!" She answered with a small nod. It was there that her mother looked at her with a concerned look, followed by turning to her siblings to ask if they had ever heard of this, 'tradition'.

"...A...tradition?" The larger Russian male questioned the child.

" _Da_!" Quick nods came from Anneliese as she crossed her arms behind her innocently and bit down on her lower lip. Hopefully playing the innocent act would be enough to get her mother and her siblings off of her tail this time too, "It's a camp tradition… You see, when a friend calls, it is always expected that you answer from a closet. It's very stupid, I know."

That was one thing that Natalya couldn't help but to nod at. Yes, it was very stupid indeed, especially since she didn't understand why her daughter decided to bring that tradition into their home too, "Mhm, I'm not letting you stay in America for that long anymore because a smart girl such as yourself shouldn't be doing anything stupid as such." She presumed it was the culture shock from being in the states for a while still taking an effect on her. Hopefully after being home for a while, her daughter would return to normal.

To change the subject, Anneliese simply laughed nervously again at her mother's statement before smiling innocently.

"So, breakfast time?"

* * *

Hello everyone!

Just want to take a second to thank each and every one of you for reading thus far! I hope you're enjoying this AmeBel adaptation of The Parent Trap too. Also to clarify how I decided on the names for the twin daughters, I just put together a list of girl names that would work for twins, and Anastasia/Anneliese seemed to be an interesting combo that I figured I'd use for the story.

There's still a lot more to the story too, so stay tuned for more chapters! :)

 _-TheSovietsAreHere_


	12. Ch 11: The Engagement

**Chapter 11: The Engagement**

"Okay kiddo. It's time for the most important meal of the day." Anastasia sat in a chair in the dining room of her father's house as she watched her uncle Matthew bring over a large plate of pancakes. A good amount of pancakes, actually. He didn't expect her to eat it all in one go, right? Along with the pancakes, there was bacon, eggs, cut up fruit, and even toast! "The best of them all, pancakes, eggs with bacon, some toast and fruit, and if you're really hungry I can make an omelet for you."

So much food for her to take in all at once… Anastasia didn't even know if she could eat it all. If Anneliese had such a large appetite, no wonder where she got all of her energy from! If she ate food, she had a bunch of energy to burn it all off throughout the day.

Anastasia ate what she could - which was only two pancakes. The other dishes weren't touched and truthfully, she felt bad. Her uncle had done all of that cooking for her, only for her to only eat two pancakes. Instead of offending Matthew though, oh no, he was shocked.

"Are you okay, Anneliese?" He began in small laughter as he placed a hand against her forehead. Anastasia simply turned her gaze over to the hand that was on her forehead before going back to the food that was in front of her, "You usually eat all your food!"

Anastasia reached up and removed the hand that touched her forehead as she nodded, "I'm okay, uncle Matt. Just not very hungry today," She explained while reaching over for the napkin that was placed in front of her earlier. With it, she wiped her mouth and hands from eating before placing it next to the plates of food, "Where's dad?"

"Oh," Matthew couldn't help but to roll his eyes while beginning to gather up the plates of food. If she wasn't going to eat it, he knew that her father happily would later, "He and Ms. I'll only have a cup of tea left about an hour ago," This made Anastasia laugh softly in response to the comment. Alice did seem to be like any English person who'd only want tea in the morning, "You overslept, so he didn't want to wake you. Of course…" His eyes narrowed her in a suspicious manner now, "I'd probably oversleep too if I was up until midnight making mysterious phone calls from my bathroom."

Anastasia felt herself tense up in her seat. She swore she was being quiet the entire time she was in the bathroom… At least, she thought. Unfortunately for her though, Matthew's bedroom was just below the bathroom she was in and he also had his window open. He couldn't hear the conversation due to her pacing around, but the sound of talking did meet his ears once or twice during the night.

"Oh.. I was, calling a friend from camp." Anastasia insisted as she tried to think of a believable excuse, "She lives in, New York!"

"I see, I see." Matthew exited the dining room, to which Anastasia stood up from her seat and followed him to the kitchen. It was there that the Russian girl remained silent while watching her uncle take the food she didn't touch and pour it into plastic containers for Alfred to eat later, "So you wanted to wait and call your friend that was convenient for her due to the time zone difference."

It wasn't the direction she was going with the response, but it seemed to be working. Anastasia nodded at her uncle's statement in agreement, "Yeah!" She answered nervously while rubbing her neck, "Because of the time zone difference."

"Uh huh, so…" Once the food was put away, Matthew poured himself a cup of coffee and began mixing some creamer into the mug he used, "You waited until it was 3 AM your friend's time to make a phone call? Okay, that makes sense."

He didn't believe her. If she was talking to her dad, maybe he'd be able to fall for it easier… But this was her uncle of all people. There was no way she was getting away with lying that easily to the other, "Actually-" Anastasia began; thus accidentally releasing her true accent. Matthew noticed this and rose a brow in confusion, but to excuse what had just happened, she cleared her throat and dismissed it as something in her mouth, "It was 7 PM her time. She lives in New York, but she was on vacation with her family in… Hong Kong."

Matthew lowered his glasses now upon hearing the response that 'Anneliese' gave to him. A vacation in Hong Kong? It made sense, but at the same time he couldn't help but to find himself not believing it. Alas, he decided to not push the subject further since it'll not only make him even more confused than he already was, but 'Anneliese' seemed to be in a panicked state compared to her calm one before.

"Very smooth." He pushed his glasses up back into place before taking a sip out of his coffee. It was there that he also began making himself a plate of pancakes; pouring some fresh maple syrup on them afterwards so he could eat his own breakfast in the dining room. On the inside, Anastasia couldn't help but to sigh in relief. It was a stupid lie and a stupid response, but she truly tried her best to make sure that the other wouldn't click together that who he really was talking to wasn't the real Anneliese, "Anyway," Matthew began after a second, thus grasping Anastasia's attention once more, "Your father wants for you to meet him at his office as soon as you're done with breakfast."

The second she was told this, Anastasia already had begun to make her way to the door where her shoes were. She slid them on quickly before returning to the room Matthew had been standing there in confusion with his breakfast, "Thanks for letting me know, and thanks for making breakfast too, uncle Matt. It was great." She began as she walked over to the entrance of one of the balconies. This balcony had a staircase that would lead her to the pathway that would bring her to her father's office. As she was about to open the door though, she couldn't help but to jump upon seeing her father's dog guarding the door.

"Hi Franklin," Anastasia smiled gently and reached over to pet him. The dog leaned over and sniffed the child's hand at first, but instead of allowing her to pet, he simply began to proceed with barking again. This made Anastasia tense up; having her believe that she did something wrong. With Matthew standing just a couple of feet behind her too and watching the scene play out, she panicked, "Jeez Franklin, I know I was gone at camp, but I promise I won't leave again," She smiled and played along with the dog's behavior before approaching the door and opening it.

With one final glance to her uncle, she gave him a small wave before entering the said balcony that would lead her to where her father was waiting for her.

The walk itself wasn't a far one; it took about five minutes for her to locate the area where her father was. Plus with having the help of her father's employees show her where she could find Alfred, it made the trip much smoother. When arriving, she entered a building that was almost similar to a factory. It still amazed her at the fact that her father not only owned a vineyard, but he also lived in the vineyard too.

When she did find her father, she approached him with a smile as Alfred welcomed her over and wrapped an arm around her, "Glad to see that you made it here without a villain stopping you, squirt."

This made Anastasia laugh softly while resting her head against her father's side. Of course, she knew he was joking with the whole villain thing. It was a reference to how the two of them, well, Alfred and Anneliese, both enjoyed reading comic books together and discussing about superheroes whenever having the opportunity to.

"So uh, honey…" Alfred started off the conversation by walking towards the direction of the exit of his office. He wanted to spend time with his daughter today, but there was something else that needed to be addressed, "There's something really important we need to talk about."

"Perfect!" Anastasia chimed in with her father's statement in agreement before she stopped walking and looked at him, "Because there's something also really important that I want to talk to you about."

This managed to catch the American's attention. He stopped walking and stood in place before getting to a similar height to his daughter's. That way, he could have a better visual of her face, "Okay, you first."

"No, you."

Alfred laughed at her now. Honestly, he considered his daughter one of the most adorable people to have in his life. It was why he cherished her and occasionally couldn't help but to admire the remarks that she would make. "Well, I want to talk about Alice." He expressed; believing that was the topic at hand that 'Anneliese' wished to talk about.

"And I want to talk about my _mother_." Anastasia looked at him now with her arms crossed.

That was enough for the man to take in a deep breath and sigh. Her mother… It was difficult for him to remember the times where he was still with 'Anneliese's' mother. Then again, whenever just being reminded of her he still experienced so much guilt for messing up. What he hated himself more though was allowing her to go away and even agreeing to the deal that they had with the twins. But this was something he wouldn't admit to 'Anneliese' that quickly.

Anastasia could tell the tone in her father had shifted quickly. Her sister warned her about their mother being a touchy subject for the man, but she had to figure out exactly how they split up in the first place, "What about Alice?" She asked, trying to make lighter use of the subject.

"Well, what about your mother?" Alfred questioned her back before once again walking. He hid back his emotions when his daughter had asked the question since the last thing he needed was to become an emotional wreck right in front of her. He was stronger than he was back then and much more mature now that he had became a father. There could be no sign of weakness shown through him.

As they walked, the Russian girl held onto Alfred's hand with a small shrug. If she was going to play this off as how Anneliese would, then she had to just go for it, "Come on, dad. I'll be twelve soon," She started off with a bit of confusion in her tone, "How long do you expect me to buy the story that a stork dropped me off at your doorstep?"

"Oh come on, 'Lise…" Alfred scratched his head now while they walked; trying to put together the right words to say to her, "We've talked about your mother-"

"-No we haven't," Anastasia looked up at him with a bit of a pout.

Based on the information Anneliese told her, the only times the two discussed about her mother was whenever mother's day would roll around. Anneliese would ask their father if she could send a letter to their mother just for mother's day, and Alfred would pass it off to Matthew to handle with. There were times where Anneliese had caught Alfred in his office too looking at the crumpled image from their marriage, almost in sadness. The overall divorce was sad. It was one that didn't end well, and over the years she couldn't help but to wonder if her mother missed her father as much as he did with her.

"We can't just keep going with that crumpled old photograph of her," The girl continued while her father was still in his own thinking state. Even if he was trying to distract himself from the conversation, Anastasia persisted that he listened, "Dad, face it. I'm almost a teenager - I need a mother in my life."

That was when the conversation shifted into Alfred's favor. With a smile, he opened the entrance of the building they were in and walked outside with his daughter, "You know Anneliese," He began; hope beginning to form in the child's eyes, "You are absolutely right. You definitely need a mother, which brings me-"

His words were cut off upon seeing a familiar face directly in front of them. If Anastasia wasn't that much in a hopeful state, she would've fainted right then and there due to being startled at the sight of Alice sitting in a golf cart with a large smile on her face.

For goodness sake-

"Alice?" Alfred began in surprise; obviously not expecting to see the Englishwoman so soon during the day. It was the same boat for Anastasia as she rolled her eyes slightly at the sight of her.

Alice smiled at the father-daughter duo and stepped out of the golf cart she had been previously driving, "Hey there, and hello Anneliese," She smiled at the child at Alfred's side, to which Anastasia simply gave her a small hello in response. Alice's presence was ruining the mood that was set for the conversation Anastasia planned to have with her father. Whatever she needed, she better say it quick because there was no time for Alfred to be paying attention to her. It was there that Anastasia noticed Alice lean into Alfred's ear and quickly whisper something to him, "Did you tell her?"

"Almost," Alfred whispered back.

Tell her what?... Now, this was beginning to make the child annoyed. By the expression on her face, she managed to pull one that was innocent enough to fool the two. But on the inside, she was livid at how Alice wouldn't just go away for the remainder of the day.

Alice glanced over at Anastasia with a smile now before reaching over to pat her head, this making Anastasia scream on the inside, while she looked over at Alfred, "Hey, if you're not busy later, why don't we all go for lunch at a nearby café? I'm sure Anneliese would like it," She insisted, now pulling her hand back before Alfred smiled in response.

"Ah… Unfortunately, I promised a date with 'Lise today," Alfred explained, which Alice rose her brows to and simply nodded in understanding. The Englishwoman didn't seem annoyed in Anastasia's eyes, but she wondered how she felt on the inside for Alfred choosing to spend time with her rather than the mistress herself.

"That's absolutely no problem at all. I have plenty to do," Alice waved them off as she walked back to the golf cart she rolled in with. She sat in the driver's seat now and started up the engine by turning a key, "I'll be forwarding your business plans over to San Diego this afternoon, which has y-o-u all over them." With a wave, it was then that the woman had driven off in her cart.

On the inside and secretly, Anastasia hoped that one of the tires would pop on the golf cart while she took that trip to deliver her father's business documents. The smile on Alice's face when she talked to them seemed innocent, but in her eyes, Anastasia read a completely different message.

Hopefully, the next cup of tea that Englishwoman had would have enough rum to make her forget the conversation they just exchanged with each other.

The plan that Alfred and 'Anneliese' had agreed upon was that after lunch back home, they would go horseback riding. The last time Anastasia had gone horseback riding was back when she had been at a festival with her mother years ago, but she was sure that she could handle Anneliese's horse. It was a father-daughter day between the two of them, and truthfully, Anastasia was excited about the events that were to take place.

What she made sure to keep in mind though, is that someway she had to incorporate her mother into the conversation too. The goal was to figure out how the divorce happened. Even if she couldn't get a lot of information out of it, she would try her best to figure out what exactly went wrong.

As they galloped on their horses, Anastasia had been giggling quietly to herself at the excitement it came from just riding across the vineyard with her father. On the top of her head, she wore a cowboy hat similar to the one her father wore the day he picked her up. She held onto the reigns of her horse tightly while occasionally speeding up; enjoying the feeling of the fresh air and smell of grapes hitting her face.

"Come on, dad! Faster!" Anastasia would call out to the other while continuing to gallop, which was enough to have Alfred laughing at how all of the sudden it seemed that horseback riding turned into a competition of who could go the fastest.

Eventually, after reaching a certain point, Alfred did call out to her, "Okay okay, give that horse a rest girl!" He laughed as he finally managed to catch up to his daughter, "You win, you win!"

The two came at a hault over a hill that revealed the entire vineyard. Not only could a person see the entirety of the said vineyard, but it was possible to see the buildings that connected to working at the vineyard, along with the house that Alfred owned. It was amazing to Anastasia that despite her father sometimes not being the smartest with his decisions, he was really good with business.

From what she had learned since her father had turned eighteen his dream was to own a vineyard to produce wine. He managed to save up as much money as he could through multiple part-time jobs, and at the age of twenty-one, he was a very wealthy businessman. Then at twenty-two, it was when he met her mother, and the rest was history.

"So honey," Alfred began as he moved his horse beside the other's, "You excited about our camping trip?"

Camping trip? Anneliese didn't tell her about a camping trip. So all she did in response was give a confused look, followed by a slow nod, "I guess? What camping trip?"

This was enough to make her father pause and give her an odd look. Did she mess up? Anastasia didn't think so, at least… Then again, Anneliese did forget to tell her a couple of things. The first one was with their father's dog, and now there was something about a camping trip?

"What camping trip?" Her father repeated her sentence as Anastasia felt her face redden in embarrassment. Oh, all she hoped was that she didn't mess up this time. The last thing she needed was for him to ask if she was really his daughter. While she technically was his real daughter, she wasn't the daughter who he thought she was, "The one we take every summer before you go back to school, sillyhead."

Yep - Anneliese definitely didn't mention about that at all. Instead, Anastasia played it off as if it were nothing and she had just simply forgotten about it, "Oh, that one! Yeah, I'm very excited." The made Alfred smile in response. At least she said something right this time. She knew for sure she'd call Anneliese out for not telling her about the camping trip before; that way she didn't have to present herself as an idiot to her father.

"So, Anneliese…" Uh oh, she didn't like where this was going. If he had mentioned once more about Alice… "What do you think about Alice?" Alfred asked now; his focus intent on his daughter as he genuinely wanted to know how she felt about the woman, "Like, as a person?"

If Anastasia were to be completely honest, she despised the woman. She didn't want to even give Alice a chance - especially since she could tell easily the real purpose as to why she wants to be affiliated with her father! The more she spends time with him, the more he'll fill her wallet with the big bucks. There was also the factor knowing that Alfred _still_ had something for her mother. Even if he denied wanting to talk about it, the way his eyes lit up with emotion was enough to give away the fact that he truly missed Natalya a lot.

Anastasia sighed now and turned her attention over to the vineyard in front of them. As she admired the beautiful scenery that surrounded them, she tried her best to figure out how to word her response appropriately, "She's cute, seems smart… Nice hair, good teeth… She can spell the word 'you'.." This made her father chuckle. But after a moment, she turned back to Alfred, "Honestly dad, she's a complete stranger. Why do you want my opinion anyway?"

She didn't have a good feeling about where this was going. If the kissing and touching meant something, then there was something more to the whole deal between her father and Alice. It brought an uncomfortable feeling to her stomach that even if her father were to tell her, she refused to believe it.

"I'll tell ya why 'Lise," Alfred began as Anastasia found herself tightening the grip on her reigns. Oh no, it couldn't be… "Believe it or not, I propos-"

"-Race you back to the house, dad!" Anastasia immediately interrupted the other as she pressed her heels against the side of her horse. Without letting another second pass, Anastasia had galloped off back to the direction they came from.

This made her father stare at her in shock that she could have ran in the first place, because it was something that 'Anneliese' had never done before, "Anneliese! Wait!" He called out before going after the girl.

Anastasia firstly dropped her horse off at the stables before making the run to her house. All she could feel at that very moment was not only anger beginning to build up inside her, but frustration and sadness. He was just about to say the one word that she didn't want to hear in the first place. It began with a _p_ and ended with an _m_ , and she absolutely refused to accept that her father would even consider such a thing in the first place.

Maybe she was overreacting? No, she couldn't be. Anastasia knew very well aware that if a person was kissing another person as her dad was doing with Alice, there was something _much_ more going on behind closed doors. Whether it be they were doing work or having a relationship, she did not want to know that this relationship was progressing into something more.

The second she arrived to the house, Anastasia kicked off her shoes and tossed her hat away. She presumed that no one had been in the house, so instantly she began pacing back and forth in the living room to take out her frustration silently.

"I am so over my head with this…!" Anastasia couldn't help but speak to her under her mother tongue. If anyone were to just step into the room, it was obvious that she wasn't speaking English anymore, "I just can't do this… Why did Anneliese think I could deal with this by myself!? I'm only one kid…!" She stomped in annoyance before resting her head against a wall in the room.

"...Something you want to share with the class, kiddo?" A sudden voice came from behind her as Anastasia had her face to the wall. This was enough to make the child shriek from being startled and almost immediately she turned around to meet the eyes of her uncle staring right at her in confusion.

By the newspaper in his hand and glasses on, she presumed that he had heard her from another room and came into the living room where she was in the middle of throwing a small fit. Oh no - He didn't hear her speaking Russian, did he?

"Uncle Matt-!" Anastasia gasped as she tried to find her original calm composure. This was not good - not good! She took in a deep breath now while the other stared her down in suspicion. By the look on his face, it was clear enough that he could tell that something was not right, "You gave me a fright…"

This made Matthew choke on his breathing slightly. That was enough to confirm his suspicions. The feeling he had been experiencing when 'Anneliese' returned from camp was returning. Something definitely happened back while she was at camp, but he still couldn't put his finger on what it was exactly, "I gave you a _fright_?" He questioned her now; this being enough to make Anastasia's cheeks redden in embarrassment.

"You scared me…" Anastasia corrected herself now and rested her arms behind her back. With her uncle staring her down with his arms crossed over his chest only made the scene even more intense than it seemed to her, "I-I didn't know you were inside the house."

Matthew sighed heavily now and reached over to lift up the child's chin so he could get a better look at her face, "You sure there isn't anything you want to tell me? Like for example…" He pulled his hand away from her face and began pacing back and forth slowly in front of her, "Why Franklin never comes near you anymore? Or, why your appetite's changed? Or how everything in your bedroom suddenly became very organized and you're very neat with everything?" He approached her now and bent his knees slightly so they were at a similar height, "Or why you've been using expressions like, 'I gave you a fright'?"

In all truths, Anastasia was absolutely surprised. She wasn't expecting for someone like her uncle of all people to pick up the sudden difference in behavior. The reason why Franklin didn't recognize her is because she wasn't Anneliese. The reason why she didn't have a big appetite like Anneliese was because she didn't generally eat a lot. The reason she organized her sister's room was because it was a mess, and the reason why she was using proper English was because it was the way she was taught.

She was right in the beginning. The day Anneliese had proposed the idea of switching places, she told her sister specifically that they were both one hundred percent different! They had the same exact face, which was expected for identical twins, but they both had completely different interests and behaviors.

"Uncle Matt, I…" Anastasia swallowed nervously, "Changed… A lot over the summer. That's all." There was no response that she could give to her behavior. It was difficult for her to explain the situation at hand. Plus, she and Anneliese were already so early into the plan… She couldn't just admit to not being Anneliese now… Could she?

Matthew shrugged in response and adjusted his glasses once more, "Okay…" He began and patted her head, understanding what she had been trying to explain to him. He wouldn't question her any further, seeing that she already seemed stressed out about something else, "Boy if I didn't know any better, I'd say you are almost like-"

Wait, what did he just say? Anastasia's eyes widened now as she watched Matthew cut himself off and stay silent. Was he just about to say, what she thought?

"...Just forget it. It's impossible." Matthew smiled now and turned away to retrieve the newspaper he had been reading earlier.

But Anastasia was persistent, "Almost as if I were who, uncle Matt?"

"Nobody." He interrupted the child now once retrieving his newspaper; using his hands to gesture a way to express for her to forget about what he said. There was no possible way that his second niece could even be in the states in the first place. Absolutely impossible, "Forget I even mentioned it."

Well, if he already had suspicions on her, there was no point to keep hiding it any further. It wasn't probably good for the plan, but she felt like her uncle would be able to keep a secret. Thus, resulting in her to stop him by grabbing his wrist. He had been just about to tell her to forget it once more, but that stopped once she said;

"Almost as if I were… Anastasia?"

Matthew froze on the spot. It was there that he slowly turned to face her now; the shock being revealed on his face at a instant. How could she… No, it couldn't be. She couldn't be talking about that one, "...You know _that_ Anastasia?"

A small smile drew to the girl's lips now. With a nod, she took in a deep breath and instead of pulling the fake American accent she had been using the entire time, she revealed her true self, "I _am_ Anastasia."

Silence. There was complete silence that filled the space between them now. Matthew had brought both of his hands to his mouth to draw in a gasp while taking a step back. It wasn't that he was horrified… He was shocked. No, amazed to see that the entire time, they didn't have Anneliese. The girl his brother had picked up at the airport that day was his other daughter, Anastasia. The daughter that he agreed to let Natalya take care of while Natalya agreed to allow Alfred to take care of Anneliese.

"Anneliese!" The silence was broken by the sound of Alfred's voice filling the house. He came up behind Matthew; not even seeing the shocked expression that covered his brother's face. Anastasia's eyes hadn't left Matthew's, and instead of speaking she simply gave a nod to confirm that it was truly her. The second daughter that had been a secret from Anneliese for years.

Of course, her focus was cut off the second her father stepped in front of her, "First of all, that was not cool. I told you I needed to tell you somethin' important." Alfred gave the child a small lecture before indeed noticing that she wasn't paying attention to him. Instead, he turned his focus from his daughter to his brother whose eyes were building up with tears. His mouth was still covered to hold in his gasp while the first round of waterworks streamed down his tears.

"Matt? What's wrong?" Alfred began in confusion, then looked at Anastasia. All she did was give an innocent shrug, thus resulting in the American turning to his brother. He couldn't help but to notice that he was staring at 'Anneliese' in particular. The tears that streamed down his cheeks didn't seem to be of sadness or anger… So, what exactly was it? "Why are you looking at 'Lise like that?"

A smile drew to Anastasia's lips as she glanced up at her father. Oh, he had _no_ idea what emotions his brother was probably experiencing at that moment. She watched now as her uncle wiped away the tears that had streamed along his face and take a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Looking at her like what?" Matthew questioned his brother back; this being enough to have Anastasia giggle softly to herself, "I'm not looking at her in a special way… I, just…" He turned his attention back to the girl that stood beside his brother with a smile. Though on his expression, the tears were beginning to well up again, "I.. I'm looking at her like I did for the past eleven years… Since the day she came home from the hospital."

Now Alfred had became confused. It was there that he found himself staring at his daughter, wondering if she said something to trigger Matthew's emotions all of a sudden.

Matthew had taken a step closer at this point to examine Anastasia more closely. This wasn't little Anneliese… This was little Anastasia. Memories practically hit him as he indeed remembered the day the twins were born. How he was pissed at his brother for listening to Natalya about not rushing to the hospital after her water had broken, then meeting them there where Natalya's sister was also a bawling mess in worry about the amount of pain her baby sister was enduring with delivering twins. He absolutely couldn't believe it.

"Six pounds, eleven ounces… Oh my god, Alfred…" It was there that the waterworks were back again. This was Anastasia's first time ever seeing a man cry, but she could understand rightfully so. If she hadn't seen someone in so long, she'd probably be an emotional mess too, "...You can't judge me for how I look at her… C-Can I hug her?"

It was without letting another second pass that Matthew had approached the girl and embraced her in a close, tight hug. Anastasia simply looked at her father with the same innocent smile, while Alfred stood there confused as ever. He understood that his brother truly loved his daughter, but the sudden waterworks? If he wasn't trying to tell her something at that very moment, he would've probably cried too.

Regardless, Anastasia returned the hug that was given to her. She took in a deep breath now; taking in the tight embrace from her father's brother and allowing him to hug her as long as he wanted.

"Oh my god… She's so beautiful, Alfred! That's your daughter right there!" Matthew took in a couple of deep breaths to calm himself down, "She's so big too-!" After a minute or so of embracing the girl, he fully had been able to return to a less crying state and was able to maintain control of his emotions, "You know what," He began as he pulled back, "I'm gonna make you something to eat. What do you want, anything?" As he asked these questions, he already had walked over to a box of tissues that was set out on a nearby table and began taking a couple of them out to blow his nose, "You know what, I'll just use up all the pancake batter from this morning. We don't have time to make a cake - I'll just make a giant pancake for you, okay?"

This made Anastasia laugh softly in response before nodding. It felt good to get the truth off her chest. Now she should be able to proceed with her different behavior compared to Anneliese's without someone being suspicious of her. Her father didn't seem to notice anything different with her, but he did seem very confused still on the situation he had just walked into.

When Matthew had left the room, it was there that Alfred side as he patted 'Anneliese's' back to direct her to one of the chairs, "Alright, I have no idea what just happened, but you can't run from me this time." He explained and Anastasia nodded in understanding. At that moment, she was in way too much of a good mood, that she even forgot in the first place that her father had something important to tell her.

"We seriously need to talk," Alfred began as he sat in front of her; keeping a close of enough distance to make sure that she wouldn't even think about sneaking away from him this time. When he believed he had her full attention, he took his daughter's hands into hers, "Okay… So, I want to know what you think about making Alice a member of the family."

Anastasia's face paled the second she heard these words. Uh oh, now she was remembering why she ran from her father in the first place. If she wasn't in a tight situation right now, she would have definitely made the run for it.

What if she played along with it, though? Just to have her father's hopes up, "I think it's a wonderful idea!"

Alfred's expression lightened up upon hearing his daughter's response. Well, this was becoming much easier than he originally thought it would be! "Really?"

"Yes! It's an awesome idea!"

"Ya?"

"Inspiring!"

"Mhmmm?"

"It's a dream come true! I've always wanted to have an _older sister_!"

And… It was there that Alfred officially facepalmed. His hopes of his daughter understanding what he was really trying to say immediately came crashing down. The sight of her father facepalming though made Anastasia tilt her head innocently. Was it something that she said?...

...Yes, she knew exactly what made him do that. In a sense, she hoped that he could see the reason why she had said it in the first place was to express how she didn't want to admit that she already knew what he was going to say.

"Uhm… Honey…" Alfred looked up now and nervously ran a hand through his hair; unsure of how to respond after hearing that statement. Instead, he smiled and sat up straight so he could be serious, "You're kinda missin' the point."

"No, I'm not," Anastasia shook her head and continued to play off of her original statement, "You're going to adopt Alice and make her a member of the family. That's really sweet, dad."

"No no no, Anneliese-" It was there that Alfred gave her a serious look now. No more playing games this time. By the shift of behavior that her father gave her, Anastasia suddenly felt uncomfortable. Either she messed up by joking around with the situation, or he was serious about what he was about to say, "I'm not going to adopt her… I'm going to marry her."

Once again, silence. Total, complete, utter, silence. Anastasia's expression went from a very calm one with a innocent smile, to immediate anger. The child's face was burning red now, eyes were darkened, and if one were to look very closely it would be possible to see that her eye was twitching.

That was it. The _M_ word she dreaded and prayed her father wouldn't say to her, and he did it. As any daughter would be, she believed she had every right to be angry. Not only angry for Anneliese, but for herself with knowing that Alice's true intentions. She wanted to shout at him that the woman didn't even love him in the first place. But instead, Anastasia maintained her composure… Somewhat.

"MARRY HER?!" Anastasia shot up from her seat and practically grabbed onto her own hair in anger, "That's insane! How could you marry a woman who's young enough to be my sister!" It was there that her anger got to the best of her. Instead of continuing her fit in English… "Вы не можете этого сделать! Она дьявол только после твоих денег! Как вы могли быть идиотом для падения ведьмы, когда вы все еще любите ма- (You can't do this! She's a devil only after your money! How could you be an idiot for falling for a witch when you're still in love with ma-)"

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!" Alfred stood up now and stared at his daughter in extreme confusion. Anastasia immediately silenced upon discovering what she had just done and covered her mouth. No no no, she shouldn't have let her anger get to the best of her! She knew she had a temper similarly to her mother, but it never got this bad! "Since when did you learn how to speak Russian?"

"I learned it at camp-!" Anastasia immediately blurted out in response. Alfred simply stood there in confusion and had been just about to ask where and how exactly at camp she learned the language, but before he had the chance to, his daughter beat him to speaking, "Just… Dad, I'm sorry, I'm trying my best to stay calm…" She took in a deep breath, "But you _can't_ get married! It'll completely ruin all my hard work and everything!"

Before Alfred even had the chance to speak to her, the girl had been off in tears. Anastasia found herself sprinting from the house so she could try her best to calm down from the situation. She felt bad for leaving her father in such a confused stated based on her behavior, but that wasn't Anneliese he was speaking too. That was Anastasia, who after all these years thought about him, she couldn't believe he could simply betray his true feelings about her mother for a woman who was good at persuasion.

Anastasia had no idea where she had ran off to. It wasn't far from the vineyard, but it was a good distance away so she could calm herself down. There was a bench swing within the area too, so she decided that for the next couple of minutes, she'd stay there until she was able to collect her thoughts.

Alfred sat there in confusion when seeing his daughter run off so unexpectedly. He figured that she'd be upset, but that sudden blow-up? It almost reminded him of… Well, a memory he didn't want to remember. It was a memory where he also betrayed someone important. Instead of betraying _her_ though, he betrayed their daughter.

He turned around upon hearing someone behind him. Matthew stood there with a large stack of freshly cooked pancakes now and his brows risen in slight amusement. The man managed to calm down from his crying fit earlier, and based on what he had heard from the other room… Oh, Alfred had no idea who he had just spilled the beans truly to.

"Don't look at me." Matthew began as he walked off from the room; leaving his brother in dismay and still, absolute confusion, "I don't know anything!"


	13. Ch 12: Confrontation with Step-Mommy

**Chapter 12: Confrontation with Step-Mommy Dearest**

If there was one thing about Anastasia, it was that she definitely had a behavior similar to her mother. There were moments back home where her mother can be very calm and reasonable - but if something were to make her angry or upset, it was the end of the world. It was why as she was growing up, Anastasia would throw consistent fits. Now that she was older and way more mature compared to back then, her fits weren't as frequent - but they still managed to occur from time to time.

The explosion she had with her father was a prime example of one of them. Anastasia wondered if Anneliese was the kind of person to throw a fit. Probably not, seeing that she was calm most of the time and seemed to have her act together. But at the same time, she knew Anneliese had emotions too. She couldn't help but to wonder what would have happened if it were Anneliese learning the news about their father's engagement… Probably her reaction wouldn't be as bad as hers, but she'd be just as angry.

Anastasia swung back and forth in the swing as she let her eyes gaze down at the ground in shame. When she did return home, she'd make sure to apologize to her father for the sudden outburst. It was completely out of character and immature of her to do so. But, she also just hoped that the day before he said 'I do', he would realize the truth about the woman he planned to marry.

Not only this, but he also hoped that the day he said her mother again would be enough to remind him of why he had difficulties trying to embrace the feelings he still had for her. She was sure that her father was still head over heels for her mother. For her mother, she was unsure… It was difficult sometimes to read her mother's emotions. All she knew was that her father hurt her feelings deeply over something, thus why she had lost faith in the marriage. But, if her mother saw him again - maybe she could remember just why she fell in love with him in the first place too.

If she and Anneliese were to be successful in this plan, the sabotage had to begin now. Anastasia made a mental note to herself to fax over a letter to Anneliese this evening, since right now in Moscow it was probably the very early morning and she was fast asleep. The sooner her sister knew the truth, the sooner they could begin the sabotage.

"Knock knock," A voice met Anastasia's ears as she sat there in silence. Slowly, the girl with minimal amount of tears in her eyes looked up to meet the eyes of… _Her._

Of all people to go after her, it had to be Alice? The last thing she wanted was to have Alice see her in such a saddened state, so quickly, Anastasia wiped away the tears that had formed in her eyes. She didn't say anything; too shocked to even know that Alice had the audacity to approach her.

The Englishwoman didn't even seem to acknowledge the girl's sadness. Instead, she took a step in front of her and let out a deep breath, "Mind if I take a seat?" She asked, which was followed up by a small nod from Anastasia. There was no purpose of telling her to go away. Even if she did, Alice would probably call her father to come and get her anyway.

Alice sat beside the Russian girl now in silence. The two didn't exchange looks with each other, but the woman was the one to break the ice first, "I suppose the news of the engagement became a bit of a shock, hm?"

Was this woman trying to reach a consensus? Either way, Anastasia wasn't falling for the gentle tone and sweet persona she was trying to present her with. She knew how persuasion worked, and she wasn't going to fall for it that easily.

"Basically…" A small eyeroll was given by Anastasia in response.

This made another sigh escape the woman's lips before she adjusted herself so she was sitting straight, "You know, I remember when I was eleven. I had my first crush at eleven too…" She adjusted her attention towards Anastasia, who still refused to make eye contact with the woman, "It's a wonderful age, you know? You're starting to feel like a woman, and believe it or not," It was there that Alice placed a hand on the child's shoulder. This made Anastasia gag in disgust on the inside, but she responded to the gesture by looking up at her now, "You'll soon understand what it's like to be in love."

"Me?" Anastasia shook her head in response as she turned her body to face the other, "I don't think so. I don't even have my twelve-year-old molars yet."

This made Alice laugh in response. Oh yes, Anastasia was still pulling the innocent little girl act, but not for long. Perhaps she could get the woman to crack. The second Alice cracked, the truth will be easy for her to obtain and share the information with her sister. It would also confirm the suspicions she and her uncle had about the Englishwoman this entire time, "Well, take this advice from someone who got their molars early in life," She continued, "Being in love is almost similar to a fantastic mystery between a man and a woman-"

"-I'm sorry," Anastasia interrupted her, which Alice couldn't help but to give an expression of disgust in response, "I don't mean to interrupt your lovey-dovey advice moment or trying to be a jerk, but I _know_ the kind of mystery my dad sees in you."

Alice leaned forward in interest. Now this had managed to catch her attention for sure, "You do?" This resulted in Anastasia nodding and standing up from her seat; now folding her arms behind her as she paced back and forth in front of the woman.

"You're young, beautiful, and sexy - and hey, my dad's only human." Anastasia stood in front of Alice now, whose legs were crossed while she tilted her head in slight confusion at the point the girl in front of her was trying to make, "But if you ask me, marriage is supposed to be based on something more than just sex…" A grin formed on her lips, "Right?"

"Boy..." Alice stood up now so she was directly standing over Anastasia; attempting to establish the dominance at the moment since it seemed like the girl was challenging her. And that's exactly what Anastasia was going for, "Your father underestimated me. Being young and beautiful is not a crime, you know. And for your bloody 411, I _adore_ your father. He's exactly the kind of man I planned on marrying-"

"-Right," Anastasia interrupted her again. This time, her expression went from an innocent smile, to a bit of a darker, creepier grin.

By just the expression made on the girl's face, Alice couldn't help but to feel a bit of discomfort seeing how serious someone so young became at the very moment. That was exactly how Anastasia wanted it to be, "If you say that you adore my father… Then, my dad's money has _nothing_ to do with wanting to marry him?"

Alice's expression angered. There it was, the crack that would lead to the truth. Anastasia's creepy grin shifted into a much more innocent smile now as she took out a notepad and pen in her mind to take a mental note of what the woman was just about to admit to her.

"Alright you little brat," The woman bent her knees so they were at a similar height and she could make direct eye contact with her, "You listen, and you listen well. I am marrying your father in two weeks whether you like it or not. So, I suggest you do not mess with me anymore. You are _way_ over your head, and the day I say I do is the day I ship you off to boarding school in Scotland. Understood?"

So it was true. As she had predicted along with her uncle, ms. Alice Kirkland was only in for the money. She didn't care about Alfred's daughter in the first place. Unfortunately for her, she had decided to marry the wrong guy and Anastasia, along with her sister, planned to show why marrying their father would be a terrible decision.

Instead of calling her out at that very moment, all Anastasia did was return the response by giving her an innocent grin. Suggest that she doesn't mess with her anymore, huh?...

"Understood." A gentle nod was given by the girl before she turned her heel and walked towards the direction of her father's house; dismissing the conversation that took place.

….Well, this was only the beginning.

* * *

Hello again!

Just want to give a mini-disclaimer to any Female!England fans, her role in this story is playing as the engaged fiancee. By no means am I trying to portray Fem!England as a bad character in general aspects, but of course there will be one apple from the bunch who'll become extremely offended. That's just how fans in fandoms work. If you do not like the idea of Alice being portrayed as the main antagonist of the story, once again, I deeply apologize and hope that you can understand that this is only a work of fiction. I will say though that there are some US/Fem!UK moments in the story too, so I suppose that's a positive?

But as said, please do not take offense to this and I sincerely apologize if you do. You'll understand why I selected Alice to play that role as the story progresses.

Thank you for reading! :)

 _-TheSovietsAreHere_


	14. Ch 13: The Truth

**Chapter 13: The Truth**

"-And she just jumped into the lake, entirely naked!"

"See," Innocent laughter came from the Russian man from across the table. In his hand, he held a glass of the familiar Russian water that had been filled for the third time. By the rosiness on his cheeks, it was clear that he was a bit out of his normal state, "That is what happens when someone challenges a child of my baby sestra's (sister) to a game of poker! You make me very, very proud, Anastasia."

It was supper time within the Braginsky household. At the very moment, it had turned from discussing recent politics to take place within the country, to 'Anastasia's' experience at summer camp. Specifically, it had been her uncle asking her how she liked the cards he had purchased for her before her departure.

Anneliese was aware that her uncle could be competitive, but she didn't know that the competitiveness was at a very high percentage. It was honestly amusing to her seeing him in such a giggly state. Sure it was the liquor talking, but it made supper even more exciting than it originally was.

"I brought more _water_ ," The sound of Anneliese's aunt's voice met her ears as she noticed the taller woman enter the room with another bottle of vodka. Already the three siblings had managed to drink through one bottle. To her, it was amazing how they were able to drink the liquor that easily! Her dad rarely had any crazy alcohol in the house aside from wine. So to see that her Russian side of the family had more of a savage behavior when it comes to alcohol, it was honestly fascinating to the girl.

As her aunt was in the process of opening up the bottle, Anneliese resumed eating her supper when her mother tapped her shoulder and reminded her to eat before the food became cold. Today's supper was a simple beef stroganoff with schi, which to her was absolutely delicious. Honestly, any kind of food was delicious to Anneliese, especially since she was known to have a big appetite and all.

Though, one thing that managed to catch her attention was her mother taking a sip out of her newly poured out glass of vodka. The smaller woman had taken a sip before turning to her sister with a small nod, "Good choice."

"...Can I try some?" Anneliese couldn't help but ask, and almost instantly Natalya shot her head over to her daughter. Not from shock, but in slight amusement. 'Anastasia' was only allowed to drink just a little bit of the alcohol on holidays or on her birthday, but all of the sudden at supper?

Well, she supposed that since she was away at summer camp for a while, she didn't see no harm, "I don't think you're going to like it, Anya." Natalya began as she handed her glass over to her daughter; now watching with slight curiosity.

"Nonsense, Natalya!" The tipsy male called his younger sister out, thus making Anneliese giggle a bit as she brought the glass to her lips and took a small sniff out of it, "She can have a sip, and if she spits then it means she's too young." This made her mother immediately turn her head over to her brother now.

The sight of Natalya staring at her brother as if he didn't understand what it was like to parent was truly amazing to Anneliese. Years from now she didn't imagine her relationship with Anastasia would be similar to any other stereotypical pair of siblings, but the relationship that her mother and siblings had shown that even as grown adults, there were occasional things they would bicker about.

The smell of the vodka in her hands was indeed strong. Very, very strong, that she was surprised her mother wasn't probably drunk from it by now! Then again, Anastasia did warn her that sometimes her mother was difficult to read. Maybe she was drunk, but she was just really good at hiding it.

Anneliese brought the glass to her lips and took a small sip out of it. The burning sensation that went down her throat wasn't as bad as she thought it'd be, but in all honesty, she wasn't a fan of the taste.

"Well?" Natalya asked as she held out her hand to take the glass back, before raising a brow in interest to see what her daughter would say.

"It's not spitting worthy." This made her aunt burst out laughing. It was indeed a savage response, yes, but it was also very funny. Natalya couldn't help but to exchange a laugh or two herself, because that was the kind of response she expected from her daughter, "But it's very sweet for something so strong."

As Anneliese explained this, she couldn't help but to feel a small smile draw to her lips upon hearing the laughter that came from her mother and her siblings. Though, her smile did come to a bit of a shatter when she noticed her aunt holding out a piece of paper behind her back. It wasn't just any kind of piece of paper - but it was one that was faxed to them.

 _'S.O.S. Call me. -A'_

Anneliese was leaning over her chair while her aunt was distracted pouring her uncle another glass of the alcoholic drink. She hadn't realized how far she had leaned out, because before she even had the chance to stop herself, she had fallen out of her seat and hit the ground with a small shriek.

"Anastasia!" Immediately, her mother had stood up from her seat and walked over to the child to help her up. If there was one thing that Natalya was, that aside from sometimes being a strict parent, she could easily become a concerned one too, "Are you okay?"

Quickly, Anneliese nodded to her mother and grasped onto her as she was lifted up from the chair. Of course, she noticed how her aunt had a concerned look on her face while her uncle seemed a bit suspicious to the sudden shift in behavior, "Mhm." The American girl responded and straightened herself, "I think I had one sip too many. You know mama, I feel I could use a bit of fresh air. Would it be okay if I stepped outside for a moment?"

"Yes, of course." Natalya had her hands over her daughter's face; wanting to make sure she didn't form any bumps against her head or anything of the sort during the fall, "Are you sure you're okay? Do you want me to come with you?"

" _Nyet, nyet-_ " Anneliese immediately took a step back now with a bit of nervousness to her tone. This obviously brought concern to her mother, "I just feel a touch whoozy _,_ " Without giving her mother a second to even question the sudden change in behavior, Anneliese had kissed her mother's cheek to thank her before sprinting out of the dining room to retrieve her jacket. It was then that Natalya turned to face her siblings with a face that said, 'Did you just see what happened too?'

'Anastasia's' behavior didn't really click with Katyusha. It was more of that she was concerned about the girl because if the alcohol was indeed enough to get her into a dizzy state, she didn't understand why Natalya allowed her to go out rather than go to bed. It was the opposite for Ivan, though.

The term, 'whoozy'... Now, where exactly did he hear that word before? The alcohol in his mind blurred his focus a bit, but he was still an intelligent man regardless of the fact that there was liquor inside of him. That's when it clicked together.

Whoozy. That stupid American his younger sister had married all those years ago… He was the one who would say that word all the time. At the wedding, he remembered the number of times Alfred would say it.

' _I can't drink this!' The American would push away the glass of pure Russian vodka away from him when it was offered by Katyusha, 'I'll get whoozy, and Natty's gonna kill me!'_

Just the memory made him want to punch himself in the face in disgust. Ivan never liked Alfred. It wasn't because of his dumb behavior, oh no. It was because of how he handled business. From what he's learned over the years, Alfred became a very well known businessman within the wine industry in America. The man has matured a lot since then, but he was not the kind of man he wanted his baby sister to say I do to all those years ago.

The day he found out that Natalya agreed to marry him was the day where he lost a little hope in his sister's decision making. But alas, he let her get married seeing that she believed she was doing the right decision. The day she announced that she was pregnant was probably one of the biggest shocks to come to their family as well. The fact that it was twins too made the Russian man want to rip the American's balls off for managing to not only get her knocked up once, but twice all at once. It all came to an end though the day Natalya decided to divorce the man due to him making one of the stupidest decisions of his entire life. It was at that time the girls were born too, and frankly, Ivan admitted to himself he was beginning to like Alfred as a husband to his sister. But since the day he decided to mess around with other women and proceed to blame the alcohol, he could never forgive him.

So the second he heard the word whoozy, it was almost as if he had just heard a clone of Alfred speak to him - _not_ , the little Anastasia he watched grow up.

"Whoozy, eh…?" It was there that the Russian man stood up and quickly downed the glass of alcohol. From there, he exited the dining room to retrieve his coat.

This managed to catch Natalya's attention, and soon she couldn't help but to follow him and examine the other as he put a coat and boots on. Was he planning to follow her? Well, if he was, she appreciated it, but she didn't know if Ivan was in a good state to go out anyway, "Are you sure you'll be alright?" She called out to her brother now, who simply snickered in response as he opened the door to the large home, "I'll go get her if I must."

" _Nyet_." He turned his head to his younger sister and gave her an innocent smile, "Don't worry, I'll watch her."

Hopefully her mother wouldn't panic, Anneliese thought as she ran through the streets of the neighborhood. She knew her mother wasn't the type of person to freak out, but after saying something along the lines of feeling tipsy, she figured any mother would have probably gone after her by now.

It showed that Natalya trusted her. Which was good, since that way it'll lower the suspicion of her finding out that she really wasn't Anastasia.

As Anneliese ran, she looked around for the nearest telephone pole. There was no way she could call Anastasia from inside the house. With last time being caught in the closet, it wasn't going to be that easier now. The sooner she could get to a phone, the better. If Anastasia was sending her a message that said S.O.S, that definitely wasn't good.

She was aware that their father was in love. Yes, that was an S.O.S by itself, but what had gotten worse with the situation? Anneliese told Anastasia to sabotage the woman as best she could. Did she mess up? Or have none of her sabotaging plans work thus far?

It took Anneliese about ten minutes or so to finally find a telephone pole with a phone attached to it. Quickly, she pulled the phone down and slid a couple of coins into the machine, before dialing a couple of numbers into it, "Um, yes," She began when connected to an international hotline operator, "I'd like to place a direct call to the United States, please."

The phone rung for a couple of seconds after she had given the operator the appropriate information to be connected to her home in America. Only after a minute or so, a click sound was her, along with a panicked, "Anneliese!"

"What's up?" Anneliese immediately shifted back from her fake Russian accent to her standard American one. As she stood there, she crossed her arms and patiently waited for her sister to explain the reason behind her concerning message, "I got your message. What happened?"

"'Lise, I'm absolutely desperate," Anastasia began as she held the phone close to her ear. Instead of this time being hidden in the bathroom, she was in Matthew's room as he offered to keep her hidden while she waited for the phone call from Anneliese.

Prior to the phone call, Anastasia had approached Matthew after her conversation with Alice. She had explained everything, such as how it was true that the woman was only going after Alfred for the money and planning to ship the real Anneliese out of the country the second she said I do at the wedding. It was there that she also explained that the plan she and Anneliese had was to try and arrange a meeting between their parents, and surprisingly, Matthew agreed to assist.

He explained to Anastasia that back then when her mother and father were together, they were very happy with each other. The only reason the divorce occurred in the first place was due to Alfred making one stupid mistake and Natalya believing in her morals that if a person cheats and blames their decisions for their behavior, they weren't worthy. But, if the two were to reunite and possibly discuss about what happened, then maybe a compromise could be reached.

Thus, leading to the current phone call that had been at hand, "Dad's getting married!"

Anneliese's eyes widened. No, that couldn't be true, was it? Her sister had to be joking, "What do you mean, 'getting married'?!" She questioned, now feeling the grip on the phone tightened slightly, "You're pulling my tail, Ana. That can't be true!"

"Oh, it is," Anastasia responded in her previously anxious and worried tone, "The white gown, black suit - it's the whole thing! The wedding is in two weeks, so if there's any hope of getting mama and dad back together, we need to do it now and fast."

To Anneliese, she was a bit disappointed hearing that she would have to confess the truth much sooner to her mother. She hoped at least have a couple of more days with her, but if it was a crisis of marriage being on the line, then she knew she had to give it up, "Okay so, mom and I are going out to the theater tonight to watch a ballet show, but I'll drop the bomb on her first thing in the morning."

"Okay, fair enough." Anastasia nodded in agreement. If the news was dropped by the morning, then that gave Anneliese and their mother plenty of time to make their way to the states. If she was correct, then they would be in California within the next three days, "Remember Anneliese - hurry!

"I will!" It was there that Anneliese hung up the phone. First things first, she had to figure out how exactly she would be dropping the bomb. Over breakfast? After her mother woke up? Honestly, she didn't know how! "Okay, get back home quickly and figure this out..." She spoke to herself as she turned around, only to freeze in place.

Right behind her stood a familiar face - and it was a face she definitely didn't expect to go after her. Did that mean, _he_ was listening to her phone call the entire time? Anneliese's face went ghostly pale as she watched her uncle bend his knees; a large smile drawn to his lips.

"Uh...oh…" Anneliese began in a bit of a nervous whimper.

"Ahh, uh oh indeed," Ivan began as he stood up now before moving his neck to let out a few cracks. Each crack that came from his joints only made Anneliese feel a shiver run up her spine. She has heard the stories of how her and Anastasia's uncle could become very creepy, but she never imagined it to be this bad! "Anastasia… Do you want to know the last time I ever heard the term 'whoozy' around me?"

So _that's_ what gave it away, "N-nyet, Dyadya (Uncle) Vanya…" Well, if anything, the phone call between her sister was enough to confirm any suspicions that her uncle had on her at that very moment. Either way, she was screwed and caught whether she liked it or not. No more hiding in the closet excuses would be able to save the girl now.

"Eleven years ago. At your mother's wedding by one of the most stupidest people I have ever met." It was there that Anneliese swallowed nervously. Was he referring to her father? Probably, because she also was well aware of how her uncle was not in favor of her mother getting married in the first place. An arm managed to be wrapped around her shoulders as her uncle led her away from the phone. But instead of going to the direction of the house, he led the girl to a park nearby, "It was from the man your mother decided to marry… Your father, you see."

That did make sense. After all, Anneliese did learn the slang-term from her father. She didn't expect her uncle though to pick up the slang that easily… But then again, Russian was only spoken in that house. If one word of English were to be spoken, then it would be done properly without any slang.

"So, why don't you start from the beginning, hm?" He gave her a gentle squeeze around her shoulders. The only reason he had brought her into the park in the first place is that it would indeed lead them home, but it would be a much longer water, "Tell Dyadya (Uncle) the entire story… Unless…" He paused, now shifting the language to English, "You would like to call me… 'Uncle'? Whichever is easiest for you, I will understand."

Anneliese sighed heavily. Well, it was over. She was caught, and she honestly gave props to the man. Ivan had consumed three large glasses of vodka before trying to find her, and while he did seem to be in a tipsy state, he seemed to maintain his composure. Not only this, but his intelligence was enough to make him realize that there was something off with 'Anastasia' based off of one word she had said. It was amazing and she could understand how her mother was so intelligent… It was because her entire family was smart!

"Well, first of all," Anneliese began the story with a heavy sigh, now transitioning back into her normal accent, "I'm not actually Anastasia…"

It was there that Anneliese led into the story. She started off with how it all began in summer camp and how she believed both of her mother and father had similar tastes in things, to which Ivan agreed upon. She explained that the two sisters met after competing in a match of fencing, followed by pulling pranks at each other as revenge. The story then transitioned into how the two of them had to spend the remainder of the summer in the isolation cabin, where they discovered they not only exchanged the same birthdays, but had crinkled photographs of their parents from their wedding day. The image matched, thus the two of them discovering that they were sisters.

The next night, Anneliese admitted, she proposed the idea to Anastasia and managed to convince her to switch. So for the remaining five weeks of camp, the two girls studied about each other, learned everything that they could, and even Anneliese learned a good amount of Russian during the process of it - which Ivan had expressed he was proud of knowing that she was able to pick up the difficult language so easily. Afterwards, she explained the switch process of the switch taking place with the two exchanging passports and tickets, thus leading to where they were at that very moment.

What was surprising to Anneliese was that her uncle didn't seem mad at all. He did tell her though, her mother probably might be, but only for the first couple of seconds when learning the truth. He explained to her that despite her mother refusing to make any contact with her father, she was still always keeping updated on how she was. Matthew would be the one to send her mother images of Anneliese, along with new things that took place day by day with her. This made Anneliese's expression soften just a bit.

All these years, she had expected that her mother had no idea what she was doing. But yet, she was practically watching her every day. Her uncle kept in contact despite being on the other side of the globe; sending her pictures and frequent updates… And the mother's day letters too! Even though she begged her dad to send them, he'd refuse, yes, but Matthew managed to get them to her. So in the end, even though she was separated from her mother, Natalya still worked her best to make sure that not only the daughter she had with her was healthy, but the one all the way in America was healthy as well.

When returning to the house, Ivan and Anneliese had agreed to break the news in the morning. Already it had been late, and it was only a couple of seconds after the two had entered the house that Natalya had made 'Anastasia' go get ready for bed.

It would be an eventful morning for sure, but now that she had the support of her uncle, Anneliese believed she could do it.

The next morning came by quickly. As per usual, her mother was awake at an early time, but it was only because she had phone calls to tend to. Natalya had been in her bedroom resting in bed, while in one hand she held a phone and the other she held a pencil; finishing up a sketch that she would be sending off later in the day.

Anneliese stood outside the door of her mother's bedroom now. Goosebumps covered the child's skin as she stood there. How… Or, what was she even going to say? She would have to lead into it, that was for sure. She couldn't just spill the beans right on the spot! Thus, it took longer for Anneliese to enter the room.

What made her go forward though was when her uncle had made an appearance while passing by the hallway to retrieve something in his own chambers. He didn't say anything, but did push the girl inside to where Anneliese all of the sudden swore was probably the most horrible thing to happen to her in such a stressed state. But there she was, in her mother's room; staring right at the woman who had motioned her over while she spoke on the phone.

Anneliese looked back at the door now where she could see her uncle peeking through the crack of it. There was no going back now. If she even dared, Ivan did say he wouldn't hesitate to break the news himself if he had to. It was then that the girl took in a deep breath and approached her mother; climbing underneath the covers and moving close to the other so she was in a snuggling position.

"Yes, of course." Natalya had spoken in English as she held the phone to her ear. It must have been business internationally, Anneliese presumed, "The sketches should be arriving within the next day or so. If not, I will be in my studio tomorrow morning, so please don't hesitate to call and leave me a message. Thank you," She ended the phone call by hitting a button on the phone before turning to her daughter who was pressed up against her body.

To Natalya, she admitted to herself that the best feeling to ever experience was to have a child close up to her. Not any child, but her own child. For the longest time, she never imagined herself as a mother. If anything, it was always said in the family that Katyusha would be the first to have a child. But unfortunately, dating didn't seem to work very well with her older sister, because it ended up being Natalya the first to get married and have children. Of course, the marriage didn't last long, but she did get two gifts from the marriage that she swore if she had to give up her life to one of her daughters, she would.

"Good morning, Anastasia," Natalya began as she had wrapped an arm around the child before returning to the sketch that she had resting on her lap in a sketchpad. Anneliese watched her mother silently sketch; amazed at how easy it was for her to take a simple pencil and draw out a simple design on the base of a dress, "I just have to finish this sketch and send it off to Paris - but afterwards, how do you feel about going out for breakfast today? Your aunt was a bit too tipsy last night, so I figured she could use the morning to rest while the two of us can go out and get fresh air." She suggested before placing a kiss on the top of her daughter's head.

This made Anneliese frown. Oh, if she didn't have to mess up the truth now, she would have definitely said yes to the offer! "I can't, mama…" She began in a lowered, saddened tone, "I have to go out of town today."

"Oh?" This made Natalya laugh for a moment as she placed her pencil down and turned to face the child with her brows rose. 'Anastasia is truly an odd child', she couldn't help but to think to herself, "And where exactly are you going?"

Anneliese immediately pulled up the covers of the bed to her body. This made Natalya chuckle even more, and soon she moved the sketch she had been working on to her nightstand as she tried to pull the covers down. Why was 'Anastasia' hiding from her in the first place? "Anastasiaaa…" She began, now tickling the blanket in hopes that her daughter would show herself, "Tell me where you're goinnggg…"

"That's where I have to go!" Anneliese shouted out now in hesitation in her tone. This caught Natalya's attention, thus making her confused, "I have to go see Anastasia!"

"Mhm, sure sure." The woman tried pulling the covers down again, but of course, that didn't seem to be working seeing that her child was actually battling against her.

It was at this moment where Ivan had officially opened the door and stood outside with a confused Katyusha, who had asked why Natalya wasn't out of bed already. The two older siblings stood there in silence as they witnessed their youngest sibling attempting to have a conversation with their niece.

"What do you mean, go see Anastasia? Are you referring to the Grand Duchess?" Natalya began now as she was chuckling a bit; not understanding what her daughter meant, "Or my Anastasia? Because my Anya is right here in front of me, but if she isn't, then where might she be?-"

"In California, with her father Alfred F. Jones!"

Natalya felt her grip loosen on the blanket. How… How did she know about… _Him_? It was then that she turned to her siblings who were standing at the door. Katyusha had been standing there with her eyes widened, now looking at Ivan and whispering with multiple questions of what exactly was going on, while Ivan had give a simple nod to Natalya to confirm what she had just heard.

"No…" Natalya forcefully pulled the sheets down to expose the child underneath it. Her eyes immediately met with Anneliese's; which had been full of tears and her cheeks reddened from being heartbroken with having to confess the truth to her mother, "...You're… Not Anastasia?"

Anneliese looked up at her mother now; wiping away the tears that had formed in her eyes as she nodded from the bed and whispered, "...That would be correct."

Slowly, the girl laid up as she witnessed the shock that had formed on her mother's face. It didn't seem like she was hurt or angry… Oh no, it was definitely more shock than anything.

"...You're Anneliese?" Natalya had asked once more to make sure whom she was seeing was truly the daughter she hadn't seen in many years.

Anneliese nodded now and shifted her body so she could give her full attention to her mother, "Yes…" She answered, before taking in a deep breath to calm herself down. It was at that moment where Natalya had brought a hand to her mouth; covering her mouth that had its jaw open from her shock, "...Anastasia and I met at the camp… And we decided to switch places. I'm so sorry…" Anneliese looked down in shame, "It's just… I've never seen you in person, and I dreamt of meeting you my whole life. And.. Anastasia felt the same way with dad, so we just… sorta switched lives. I hope you're not mad, mom. I just, love you so much and I just hope that one day you can love me as Anneliese, and not as Anastasia…"

The expression on Natalya's face softened now upon being given the explanation from her daughter. To switch places… It was funny to her, in all truths. There was once a time after she and Alfred learned that they would be having identical twins, that he joked about what if the two ended up switching on them one day? And well, there it was, right in front of her.

She pulled her daughter into a close embrace as she gently rubbed her back; silently thinking to herself while trying to comfort the child who seemed like she truly faced a lot of difficulties trying to own up to the truth. But it all made sense now… Not only was it the sudden change of behavior that managed to catch Natalya's attention, but when they reunited. The Anastasia she knew wouldn't have cried as badly as Anneliese did at that very moment. Oh, how painful it must've been for Anneliese to not confess that it was really her and not Anastasia at that time.

"Oh, Anneliese.." Natalya took in a deep breath now after gathering her thoughts together. It was at that moment she even had brought Anneliese into her lap now; trying to rock her to get her to calm down from the shaken state that she was in, "I've loved you your entire life… Even if you couldn't see me there in America, I was always watching you. Even if it pissed me off seeing your dad next to you, I remembered that my anger doesn't matter because my love for you is even more stronger than that."

That was when she heard it. The two girls laying on the bed turned over to where Katyusha was practically a crying mess at that point. She had her face covered with a handkerchief, and from just learning that the girl they had been taking care of was actually her sister's second daughter - oh, the emotional rollercoaster hit her hard, "I-I've…" She managed to choke out in between her tears, "I've never been so happy in my entire life for you, Natalya-!"

The sight of it made Natalya chuckle laugh softly, knowing that it was just her sister being her sister. But with a glance over to her brother, Ivan had gave a small nod to reassure that he'd take care of it before leading Katyusha out of the room and downstairs for a glass of water.

When the two were gone, it was then that Natalya turned her attention back to Anneliese and sighed before cupping her cheek, "I guess you and dad have to switch us back now, huh?" Anneliese began with a bit of a saddened tone. As much as her mother didn't want to, Natalya gave her daughter a small nod.

"Well, technically…" Natalya began as she lowered her hands from her daughter's cheek to make contact with the child's hand, "You belong to your dad, and Anastasia belongs to me."

It was the expected response, but what was she supposed to do about it? Overall, Anneliese was happy that her dream was able to come true. The woman she dreamed of meeting finally happened, and now instead of seeing her as her sister, her mother finally acknowledged her as herself.

"You know mom, this arrangement sucks… like, really badly." Anneliese began. Her tears had came to a stop eventually, but one thing she couldn't help but to smile at was hearing her mother laugh at the American slang that came with English. Oh yes, and Anneliese was honestly glad that she didn't have to speak in Russian anymore.

"I agree, it _totally_ sucks," Natalya chuckled, playing her own impersonation of how an American would sound like when speaking English.

Anneliese sat up on the bed slightly as she listened to her mother, "Then I say, we fly to Cali, see Ana and dad, and work this whole thing out."

Another nod was given by Natalya in agreement. Even though the thought of going to see Alfred made her want to faint, she would do it just for the sake of her daughters, "And I say, you're right…" She expressed, "Don't worry, I'll take care of everything."


	15. Ch 14: Last Day in Moscow

**Chapter 14: Last Day in Moscow**

" _I don't know what the fuck I'm doing right now._ " A frustrated tone came from the Belarusian woman as she was rummaging through her closet. In her room, her older sister stood there; giggling quietly to herself at how her younger sister was acting very dramatic over the situation.

"Now now, Natalya…" She approached her younger sister and placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to bring reassurance to the situation, "No need to become frustrated. I understand it's a big event, but I think you're panicking over nothing."

This made Natalya's face burn red. Immediately, she turned to her sister and grabbed her shoulders, "Panicking. Over. Nothing." She repeated the words in a dull tone, almost indicating that Katyusha had said the wrong thing at the wrong time, "Tell me, sestra. How would you feel if you had to see a man, who cheated on you, after eleven years because we decided to have children that inherited my crazy-bitch side and his sneaky side and decided to turn against us!"

"You shouldn't be asking me, Natya." A gentle sigh came from the older woman as she moved over to the bed and took a seat, "I don't have tastes in American men like you."

"That's not the point!" There were moments where sometimes Natalya couldn't express her problems to her sister because then she would turn it against her and treat it to karma. Back then, Natalya didn't really have a taste in men. Let alone, she didn't even have an interest in the idea of marriage. It was all because of fate deciding to sit her down next to Alfred at that dinner, and of course, her heart falling for him at an instant.

After picking out some clothes she believed would work for the trip, she tossed them onto her sister's lap and proceeded to retrieve her suitcase, "I'm sorry, sestra," Natalya expressed as she opened up the suitcase and angrily began to take the clothes she tossed and begin to fold them… Then proceed to simply toss them again into her suitcase as if they were nothing, "I haven't heard from Alfred in… What, eleven years? The last time I exchanged a word with him was after the divorce papers were signed and we agreed on who would take care of which twin. We came up with this damn arrangement so we wouldn't have to see each other ever again!"

 _Mom really does have a loud voice when she's angry…_ Anneliese couldn't help but to think to herself as she stood outside the doorway now. She was told by Anastasia that despite the house being very large, due to its quiet state it was easy to hear anything. Whether it be a simple conversation or even yelling, it wouldn't be hard to hear.

"If Alfred didn't decide to choose liquor over me, then I'd probably be still married to him!" Natalya had been pacing back in forth now in frustration. Love was honestly a very difficult thing, especially when it came to dealing with exes, "So uh…" She took in a deep breath now, trying to find her calm composure again while approaching a mirror and quickly putting together her hair for the flight, "Anneliese said, he was a, 'hunk'? The hell does that mean?"

"It's probably a slang term in English to describe someone who's handsome," Katyusha suggested as she helped her sister fold her clothes and place them into the suitcase.

"That would make sense." Natalya sighed in response. Once her hair was taken care of, she moved onto picking out an actual outfit for the flight, "I mean, yes… Back then, he was a very handsome man. He had a smile that I'll admit, made me go weak at the knees if you can even believe that." This made Katyusha's eyes roll in response to hearing that statement. If Ivan heard her say it, he'd probably make her regret it.

Once she believed everything was calm down, Anneliese knocked on her mother's door and peeked her head in. The child had been wearing some of Anastasia's clothes, which had been a simple pink gown with white stockings and a bow that tied the dress in place behind her. Personally, she would never wear something like this, but it was Anastasia's style and the only clothes she had with her.

"Okay mom, I'm all set!" She chirped; making the two women inside the room glance over at the child who seemed very excited about the upcoming trip.

"Fantastic, me too-" It was there that Natalya was met by a sock hitting her side. She glared at her sister in annoyance now, but then remembered she wasn't even done packing yet, "-I mean, almost done."

Almost done?... That didn't look like what it seemed in Anneliese's eyes. It seemed like the entire room had exploded in some shape or form. Then again, by the sounds of her mother stomping around and exclaiming in anger, she understood why her uncle warned her before going up to the bedroom, "But mom… like, your suitcase is totally empty. I'm pretty sure you should bring some clothes to wear."

This made the Ukrainian who was sitting on the bed giggle a bit. Natalya then looked at her now, questioning her sister's laughter before speaking in their native tongue, "Oh come on, Natya. You have to admit, she's a spitting image of Alfred and very adorable."

"Don't remind me." Natalya responded in the same language before shifting back to English, and soon she motioned her daughter to come to her, "Did you speak to your dad yet?"

"Mhm!" It was there that Anneliese had reached into her pocket now to retrieve a piece of paper, where she had scribbled some information down from when she was on the phone with Anastasia earlier, " _He_ said he's very anxious to see you."

Natalya turned to her older sister in confusion, then back to her daughter, "...Anxious to see me?"

"Yup!" It was then that she opened up the piece of paper once she found it and read the information off of it, "He said he'll meet us at the Stafford Hotel in San Francisco tomorrow morning." This made Natalya's brows risen. That soon? Oh, all she could hope was that the flight had alcohol because she didn't feel mentally prepared to face Alfred that soon.

But of course, she came to terms with the information Anneliese provided and proceeded to lead her out of the room. That way, she wouldn't see the chaos that would resume with her having a midlife crisis, "Thank you, Anneliese. Why don't you go downstairs and ask your uncle if he's arranged the tickets and passports for us, okay?"

As the child was leaving, Katyusha couldn't help but to find herself stand up and make her way over to the door while her younger sister was distracted. It was there that she called out in a low whisper, "Liar liar, pants on fire!" To which Anneliese immediately shushed her aunt and quickly made her way down the stairs to where her uncle was waiting.

Upon being given the whole explanation about the switching process, Ivan had managed to tell everything to Katyusha. One of the biggest factors to it was that Alfred had no idea that the girls had switched in the first place. They were the first to discover, thus meaning that any communication that was made in America, it was between the twins, and the twins only.

This meant that Natalya had no idea that the real person that Anneliese had been gathering the information from was Anastasia herself. The decision to meet at the Stafford Hotel was through Anastasia, along with how they would all be meeting at a very specific time… Hopefully without any interruptions from the evil Englishwoman herself.

"Oh, big sestra… I have a very strange request," Natalya called out to her sister with her head tilted now upon seeing the other stand by the door and not by the bed. Instead of questioning it, she approached the other with a bit of a heavy, frustrated sigh, "I know this is all of the sudden… And I know I'm being a pain in the ass as it is, but could you-"

"-Join you on the trip?" Katyusha spoke in a gentle tone to her sister with a smile.

"Would you!?" A loud sigh of relief practically came from Natalya as she heard her sister's continuation of her sentence. It was there that she immediately grasped onto Katyusha's hands with a pleading look on her face, "I don't think I have the mentality to handle seeing Alfred again, and if there's anyone that'll keep me from going insane, it's you."

This was true. For the longest time, Natalya was known to be famous for her temper amongst all of the siblings. And Katyusha was the only one able to get her to a calm state if her temper was at a very high level. Ivan was known to run away from it due to becoming scared, but rightfully so because Natalya was not herself when she was angry. Through her comforting ways and gentle personality. It was easy for Katyusha to get her sister to calm down. After all, she was the one who watched over her since she was born, so it was the least she could do her job of being an older sister.

"Of course I'll come, I don't mind," Katyusha responded and placed a kiss on her little sister's forehead. Followed by this, she turned to her sister's closet, "But, I must say… If you want to rub it in Alfred's face what exactly he missed all of these years-" It was there that the woman disappeared for a moment and left Natalya standing there in confusion. What exactly was she doing? It was less than a minute before Katyusha returned, though this time in her hands she had been carrying a black dress that was small enough to not only hug all of the places along Natalya's body, but a good way to show off to an ex too, "I'd wear this. That way he can see that even after giving birth to twins, that you're still the same beautiful woman he agreed to give up on."

Natalya's eyes widened upon hearing the suggestion that her sister made. It was something she normally wouldn't hear from the other, but of course, she could understand in a sense. The day it was discovered that Alfred had cheated on Natalya, her entire family was angry. Even Katyusha had allowed Ivan to go ahead and beat the man up for doing such a thing, but of course, Natalya stopped him due to not wanting to add any further fuel to the fire that already began. So to have the sudden encouragement from her siblings to go and show off to Alfred what he had missed over the years… It, honestly was out of character for them, yes, but it amused her deeply.

Regardless, it took Natalya about an hour or so to finish packing and get herself dressed. Then an additional hour to help her sister pack for the unexpected trip too. Once all the ladies of the household were ready to go, a taxi was called to bring them to the airport. Anneliese was the last to exit the house after her aunt and mother; standing by her uncle as they both watched the driver place the luggage into the trunk of the car.

"You promise you'll come and visit for Thanksgiving?" Anneliese asked her uncle in an eager tone full of excitement. Even though she knew her uncle couldn't stand her father, she still wanted to at least see him after she returned home.

If there was one thing that Ivan couldn't help but agree to, it was whatever his nieces wanted. After all, they were his little sister's daughters, and he would do anything to make sure they were happy just like for his sisters, "Of course, I wouldn't miss it for the world," Ivan smiled at the child now before pulling her into a close embrace, which Anneliese happily returned, "Remember though, I get to punch your father in the face with my magic metal pipe when I do come, okay?"

This made Anneliese begin to giggle a bit. Sometimes it was very odd to hear her uncle talk about beating her father up, but it seemed to be the relationship they had with each other. From what she learned, most of the time their bickering would be between Russian and American politics, sports, or even the stupidest of things such as trying to amaze her mother who was the best person in her life. In the end though since the incident, Ivan didn't have the opportunity to beat Alfred up as revenge for breaking his sister's heart. So of course, the deal was that if Ivan could at least punch him in the face one time, then he'd come for Thanksgiving.

It was a deal that Anneliese didn't hesitate to agree upon, because well, she believed her dad deserved it for giving up on her mother so easily.

Once the final hugs were exchanged, Anneliese quickly climbed into the car with her aunt and mother before waving to Ivan again goodbye. All she knew the next time she would be seeing him would be at Thanksgiving, but in the end, she enjoyed the time she spent with him.

Not only him, but her entire trip to Russia was a wonderful experience that Anneliese for sure, would never forget.


	16. Ch 15: Welcome to San Francisco

**Chapter 15: Welcome to San Francisco**

The flight to California was a smoother transition than she thought it would be. It was a much faster flight compared to the one she took from Maine to get to Moscow, that's for sure, but Anneliese most certainly enjoyed the traveling process with her mother and aunt.

What she couldn't understand though, was why whenever someone had offered her mother a drink, she agreed to it. The trip to San Francisco consisted of three flights in total. One from London to Boston, one from Boston to Los Angeles, and then Los Angeles to San Francisco. It was tiring indeed, yes, but in the end, it seemed like her mother was the one who enjoyed it the most of all because whenever alcohol was introduced, it was immediately in her hands.

The trip to the Stafford Hotel after arriving in San Francisco had to be the most amusing part to her. It was probably due to the fact that she had never seen her mother this wasted. There were times where she glanced at her aunt to ask if her mother was okay, but she would simply dismiss it as nothing. It was when they arrived to the Stafford and their driver opened the car door to Natalya sticking her foot out and laughing, that Anneliese knew, her mother was definitely _not_ alright.

"Are you going to be okay?" Katyusha asked; wrapping her younger sister's arm around her shoulder while she handed a tip to the driver. Anneliese had already dealt with the luggage by having a cart brought to them, but at the same time, she was still worried about her mother.

Natalya had never gotten drunk before until that very moment. Even if she were drunk, she always would be able to handle it due to her strict and strong persona being able to handle liquor. But with her mind being in such an emotional mess at the idea of reuniting with her ex after eleven years; she was a mess, "Nope!" She laughed loudly at her older sister before leaning in to whisper, "You know… you know…" She began in a slurred tone, "I love vodka… I love it so much." It took so much courage for Anneliese to not laugh. Even if her mother was not in the right state of mind, it was hilarious! "But…" Natalya shushed now as she whispered into her sister's ear, "Vodka mixed with whiskey? It's so disgusting, but it sure is a good cure to making sure I don't want to kill anyone!"

Just inside the Stafford Hotel had been another event taking place as well. Not only did the Europeans from Russia arrive, but the members of the Jones family made their appearance too.

In a group, Anastasia was walking through the hotel now with her uncle Matthew, father, grandfather, and even Alfred's dog, Franklin himself, looking around for the devil Englishwoman herself, as she and Matthew liked to call her.

The entire time they walked around the hotel to find her father's fiancée, Anastasia had also managed to keep an eye out for her sister and mother. She knew that they should be arriving around the same time as them, thus why she was very careful with the direction they took while looking around. The last thing she needed was for their father to see Anneliese and their mother together unexpectedly. If that happened, then that was chaos waiting to happen.

"Ah, there you are!" A familiar woman's voice caught the attention of the Jones' as they all turned around. Almost immediately, Anastasia found herself give a small eyeroll upon the sight of Alice. She had been wearing a tight black dress and black pumps to compliment the outfit, while her hair was pulled back into a low bun and she had glasses resting upon her nose. If anything, the woman looked like a high school history teacher who was trying to flirt with middle-aged men. The thought of it made a shiver run up Anastasia's spine.

But what made her want to gag was seeing her father exchange a kiss with her. The girl looked up at her uncle now, who simply gave a small shrug in agreement before turning to the engaged couple, "Good to see you brought the entire family… _and_ Franklin too!" Alice began; looking at the labrador who had been lowly growling at the woman.

"'Lise insisted we bring him," Alfred explained with a chuckle to his tone as he reached over to pet the dog, whose growls had reduced once having the touch of his owner meet his head, "I couldn't resist saying yes to the idea. After all, it was Anneliese's idea too to come to the Stafford."

That was right. Anastasia had walked in on her father having difficulties trying to figure out where the venue of the wedding could be within the next two weeks. It was then that she proposed the Stafford Hotel. One, because it seemed like her father would enjoy the area, and two - it was the perfect place for a divorced couple to reunite after eleven years.

A gentle smile was given by Anastasia when her father praised her for selecting the hotel to explore as a possible venue. Alice ignored this smile and instead focused on Alfred, before returning to the dog who had lowered his growls, "Aw Alfie, you're such a softie," She began and reached to pet the dog. Immediately, Franklin in response had growled and barked at her again; this making Anastasia cover her mouth and giggle innocently.

"Good doggie," A small whisper came from Francis as he stood behind Matthew, to which the two males exchanged a smirk in agreement before looking back at Alice. Oh yes, the only one who was blinded by her ways was Alfred. Everyone else in the family knew _exactly_ what Alice was after in the first place, after all. Francis most certainly didn't like her, Matthew just found her evil, Anastasia thought the woman was the devil and Franklin… The dog simply didn't want the wrong woman who brought bad vibes touch his owner.

Alice pulled her hand immediately away from the dog and dismissed his behavior as nothing at all. Instead, she took Alfred's hand into her own, before beginning to lead the group down the lobby of the hotel, "Well, one thing I'll agree with 'Lise is this venue," She began the conversation, "It's absolutely gorgeous! I also think that the suites here are perfect. Not too big, not too small…"

It was as Alice was in her own little conversation with Alfred that Anastasia noticed the sudden change in Franklin's behavior. Not only was he practically pulling her ahead at this point with his leash, but the dog was eager. It had gotten to the point where Anastasia gasped when she was pulled away by the dog due to her grip being tight on the leash, thus resulting in her grandfather and uncle to follow her; leaving the engaged couple to converse about the venue.

"Sweetheart…" Alice had begun as they were left alone now; Alfred's eyes not really focused due to the fact that his dog had pulled his entire family away. Regardless, he knew they'd be fine, "Why don't we go check out the honeymoon suite, hm?" This immediately brought the American back into focus upon hearing the Englishwoman's proposal. He looked at her now with a bit of a blush to his cheeks, "I bet… It is to _die_ for."

As Franklin had been pulling Anastasia away from the scene, the two sisters and daughter from Russia already had made their way into the hotel.

Katyusha had been the one to check in, seeing that her sister was not in the right state of focus. The key cards were gathered and Anneliese held onto her mother's hand the entire time as they walked towards the elevator now to get to their room. The smell of alcohol that practically consumed her mother made Anneliese want to gag, but her mother's behavior made up for it because it was still hilarious to her.

The three entered an elevator once it was open and it was at this point that Natalya had been talking about her ex all of the sudden. Anneliese had her mouth covered to hold back her laughter still, "I fucking swear… I'm gonna kick his face to the next dimension, and the grounding Anastasia until she's twenty-one too for making me deal with this!- Oh, shit-" That was when the Belarusian saw it. She had left her bag over at the check-out table, and immediately she stopped the elevator from closing to go retrieve it, "I left my bag, hold on."

"Sestra, you shouldn't be walking around by yourself!" Katyusha had called out, now sighing heavily as she tried to reach out to pull her sister back into the elevator. Of course, the younger woman was too quickly for her to catch, thus leaving her and Anneliese in the elevator.

"Hey Franklin, hang on-!" Matthew had called out to the dog who was going directly to the elevators. Why all of a sudden the k-9 was going to the elevators; both Anastasia and he didn't know. But the second the dog stopped walking, Anastasia, Francis and Matthew all looked up to immediately make contact with the two girls that had been in the elevator.

The same gesture was made by the two girls in the elevator too, as Katyusha's eyes widened and Anneliese's jaw dropped. Katyusha, due to the fact that Anastasia was right in front of her… And Anneliese, well…

"Frankie!" A happy shriek came from the child beside Katyusha. It was almost immediately that the grip Anastasia had on the dog was lost, and soon the dog had sprinted to the elevator where he had practically tackled the girl down. Anneliese had been laughing now; letting the dog lick her cheeks and face as she hugged him tightly. By this time, the elevator doors had closed now, leaving Katyusha who was now confused on what had just happened.

Anastasia though, stood there with her jaw dropped, "...Was that?"

"Seems like it, child." Francis nodded in agreement to Anastasia's question before the three of them heard it.

"Anneliese!" A woman approached Anastasia now; her cheeks still reddened from the alcohol she had consumed earlier. Natalya had placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, not even aware that who she had found standing in the hallway with two men had really been Anastasia all along.

Matthew and Francis quickly looked at each other, and soon moved away from the two girls. Anastasia was speechless though. Not only due to the fact that this was her seeing her mother after weeks, but the stench of alcohol! "Mama-"

"Oh honey, you didn't have to wait for me down here." Natalya insisted as she reached over to pat her back; almost as if she was trying to motion her to go to the elevators, "Did you wear that jacket on the flight? It looks really good on you…" She covered her mouth now and let out a small burp; this making Anastasia fan her nose in slight disgust, "Don't worry about me. I'll meet you up in the room, okay? Your aunt should be there already…" It was then that the woman turned and began to walk away. The entire time the encounter happened, Anastasia had her mouth wide open in shock. She - She didn't even recognize her! Let alone, she was drunk!

Anastasia immediately turned to Matthew and Francis now; Matthew had his jaw opened in shock just as well, while Francis was holding back his laughter. To all three of them, despite it being many years for the two men especially, that moment was the first time they had ever seen someone like Natalya drunk off of alcohol. Everyone knew for a fact that the woman could hold her liquor well, but it seemed that she had allowed her frustrations and anger towards the situation get to the best of herself.

"She's drunk!" Anastasia now facepalmed herself; this being enough to get Francis officially to laugh now because he didn't want to be the one to admit it, "She never gets drunk! The woman could have three fireball shots and a glass of vodka to wash it down, and she'd be fine!" It was there that she sighed heavily and turned towards the direction where her mother had walked off. How the hell did Anneliese let their mother to get wasted at a time like this?

"I think the best part of it is that she chose _today_ too to get shitfaced," Francis said in laughter, before motioning Anastasia and his son over to the elevators so they could quickly get to the suites now. The last thing they all needed was another encounter with the drunk woman, or even her older sister crying at the fact she managed to let her drunken sister escape.

Being left alone while her vision was in a blurred state was not a good idea either. This was because Natalya had found herself struggling to figure out where the elevators were, despite being in front of them only a few seconds ago. So she wandered around the lobby; looking around as calmly as she could until she could find an area that looked like it had elevators.

Alfred and Alice had managed to occupy their own elevator. The entire time the two waited for one, the Englishwoman had been placing kisses on the American's neck while Alfred kept an arm around her waist closely. It was once an empty elevator opened, the two walked in and the kisses from the neck exchanged to real, proper kisses. Alfred had his arms around the woman; hands resting on his hips and eyes closed. However, as he opened his eyes to make sure the elevator door had been closing; he practically choked on his breathing.

At that point, Natalya had given up trying to find the elevators and asked one of the receptionists at the front desk. She had been approaching one of the elevators now, but as she approached one that was in the process of closing, something had caught her attention.

Her eyes widened upon seeing her ex-husband's arms around another woman. This had made her jaw drop in not only shock but in absolute confusion because if there was one thing Anneliese forgot to tell her, it was _that_.

Alfred had been just as shocked too, that he immediately moved the woman away and kept his eyes focused on Natalya, " _Natalya_?!" He managed to choke out in shock before the Natalya simply gave over a confused wave before the doors had closed.

Immediately, anger built up inside the woman. She was very well aware that she was already in a drunken state, but she sure wasn't dumb. What she saw was Alfred's arms around another woman, which she gave no care to whatsoever - but her biggest issue was the expression on his face. It was almost as if he were shocked about seeing her there at the hotel. Anneliese told her that Alfred was aware that they would be there, but the man she saw in the elevator seemed like he didn't even know they existed on the same planet!

Once an elevator had opened, Natalya immediately stormed inside it and pressed the button of the floor that Anneliese was supposed to be on with Katyusha. What she didn't expect was that the room Alfred and his family would be staying in, would be directly across the one she was staying in. She exited the elevator once it arrived on the floor and walked through the hallway; her face burning in anger. At this time, the alcohol had begun to wear off, because her anger easily was able to defeat any frustration that developed from her drunken state.

"ANNELIESE JONES!" Natalya had called out down the hallway; looking around to see which door exactly where her daughter had been hiding. But instead of being exposed to one door opening, two of them opened. It was there that two girls of the same face had stepped out, thus making Natalya groan in annoyance, "Oh, don't do this to me! I'm already seeing double and frustrated enough!"

The twins exchanged a look at each other, and soon Anastasia had stepped over to her mother in a quieter tone because she knew when her mother was angry, she had to treat her gently, "It's me, mama. Anastasia." Natalya looked over at the child with her eyes widened, before looking at Anneliese who gave a simple nod to confirm the statement.

"Oh Anya…" Her expression softened now as she pulled her daughter into an embrace; placing a kiss against her cheek and taking in a deep breath. Seeing her daughter again after the whole situation was indeed enough to calm her down a bit, but not completely. Natalya looked down at her daughter now with a small smile drawn to her lips as she cupped her cheeks, "You look amazing, dear…"

Natalya held out an arm to Anneliese now, to which she immediately walked over to her mother and held her in an embrace with her sister. This had been the first time Natalya had the both of her daughters in her arms again, that even though she was mad, she was truly happy to have them both again. The last time she had the two of them in her arms had been when they were only infants, and to see them grown and healthy was one thing that she always wanted for them.

"My two girls… I can't believe you're together." She looked down at her daughters now who looked up at her. Indeed they were both spitting images of each other - it was absolutely amazing to her. However, upon remembering why and _how_ the two were together again; her gentle smile turned into a darker one, "...And I also can't believe you did this to _me!_ " Her grip tightened on the girls now, thus making them both go pale, "What did I do to make you two want me to suffer-"

"-Excuse me…" Natalya had been interrupted mid-sentence by the sound of a softer voice coming from in front of her. She looked up and let her gaze meet a familiar face that she indeed hadn't seen in years.

It was there that the two girls ran into the room that figure had came out of, while he had led Natalya inside, "I'm sorry to interrupt the mommy-daughters lecture right now," Matthew began as he stood behind the angered, now not as much drunken woman, "But I think it'll be best to do it inside rather than out here." It was there that he smiled at her after he had closed the door, "Hi Natalya, I don't think you rememb-"

" _Matvey_!" Natalya immediately responded with calling him the nickname she and her sister had given him years ago; of course remembering who exactly he was. If there was one man that made sure she didn't go insane through her marriage with Alfred, it was him. It was there that despite her angered state, she exchanged a hug with the other before walking into the room officially and approaching the two girls that had been sitting on a couch.

Matthew simply smiled at this gesture as he locked the door and whispered to himself, "I knew I always liked her."

Anastasia and Anneliese exchanged looks at each other upon seeing that their mother indeed did know Matthew. Despite all of the years that had passed, Natalya did maintain a good relationship with Alfred's family even though she wanted to do nothing with him. After all, it was his family taking care of Anneliese, so she didn't want to leave Anneliese in the hands of her father that easily.

"One of you…" Natalya began as she paced back in forth in front of the nervous girls, "I don't know which exactly, but one of you-!" It was there that she bent her knees so she could look into the Anastasia and Anneliese's eyes, "Let me ask a question. Do one of you want to answer why you think I'm pissed?"

The twins looked at each other in confusion. Anneliese had no idea and presumed maybe it had been because she and Katyusha had left her down at the lobby. Anastasia on the other hand… Indeed did have a feeling that it had something to do with their father, but she didn't speak. Instead, the two girls remained silent as they shook their heads.

This was not sliding with Natalya, unfortunately, "Ohh? So you both don't know, then? Well…" She stood up straight; her arms now crossed before taking in a deep breath, "One of you told me that your father was VERY well aware that I was going to be here. And the man I just saw in the elevator downstairs looked at me as if he forgot that I fucking existed!"

Anastasia immediately facepalmed, then looked at Anneliese as if she had forgotten once again to tell their mother one of the most biggest important things.

"...You saw dad already?" Anastasia began in a nervous whisper, but at the same time, she glared at Anneliese who had been looking away from her sister shamefully.

"Oh, yes I did." Natalya's eyes narrowed at the two. Based on the body language she was reading from the girls, Anastasia seemed to be unaware that her mother didn't know their father didn't know she would be arriving… But it seemed that Anneliese had interpreted the situation that their father was very well aware that they would be coming to switch the two back.

It was there that Natalya approached a nearby couch and laid down on it; bringing a hand to her head in frustration, "The man looked at me as if I were the fucking ghost of Christmas past and was there to haunt him or something!" It was then that she looked at the girls, "One of you, go get me something cold for my head." She ordered, which Anneliese immediately responded to by running to the bathroom to retrieve a small towel.

Truthfully, Anneliese felt bad for lying to her mother and seeing her in such a stressed state - but there was nothing she could do about the situation. She knew she had to lie because if she didn't, then her mother would have probably drank on the flight until she was passed out!

With the towel in her hand, she turned on the sink and drenched it in cold water before wringing it out and returning to the room, where her mother only continued with her frustrated temper tantrum, "I mean, couldn't you two at least imagined what it would be like for me to see your father again?" Natalya looked at them as she took the towel that Anneliese had handed her; now resting it on the top of her forehead, "I feel like an idiot, you know? Seeing Alfred Jones with his arms around another woman is not exactly the scenario I had in mind when we switched you two back-"

It was there that she saw it. Katyusha had walked into the room in a one-piece bathing suit, a towel in her arms and sunglasses on the top of her head. Just behind her had been Matthew as they were both in conversation; laughing amongst the two of them to indicate that they were only catching up over the years.

For the longest time, Natalya knew that her older sister had difficulties trying to find a partner. She truthfully expected that she would be the first in their family to get married first, but of course, that didn't seem to be the case. However, the day she met Matthew at her wedding, the two always would talk consistently. Not only would they spend time together, but frequently would do things that any couple would do! So the day Natalya and Alfred had separated also came the separation of that friendship.

But in all truths, Natalya had bet with Ivan that they were already fucking.

Maybe it was because she was so used to seeing them together back then that Natalya couldn't help but to make the assumption, but alas, it was not a shock to see the two once again in conversation.

"Where the hell are you two going?" Natalya called out to the both of them who had stopped right outside the door. Anneliese and Anastasia simply exchanged a look at each other, before giggling softly to themselves, "Don't you realize that something important is going on here!"

"Yes," Katyusha smiled at her little sister as she stood there with Matthew standing right behind her, "But as I told you, _you_ were the one who decided to have a thing for American men,"

Anastasia gasped when hearing her aunt say this since she had never heard the woman speak in such a savage tone before. She was always very used to seeing her aunt very gentle, sweet, and always sensitive to the littlest things! So to tell her mother off like that… It made her want to applaud, but naturally, she didn't. Anneliese simply smirked at the response, now wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders to whisper in her ear about how their mother _did_ still have something for their father. Alas, Katyusha continued; "So I'm going swimming with Matvey and going to catch up with him after all of these years."

"Whatever," Natalya rolled her eyes, watching the two leave. She figured that at least some people should have fun on this trip. Plus, there were rarely swimming pools in Moscow anyway, so she figured it'd make sense for her sister to enjoy the experience in America after years. It was then that she looked over at her daughters now and saw up, "Girls… I want you to tell me right now why you lied and brought me here without telling your father-"

There was silence once again. Not a word spoken was given by the girls. One thing that managed to catch Natalya's attention, however, was the sight of Katyusha and Matthew quickly trying to escape the room before another word was said. This immediately brought alertness to Natalya, and quickly without any sort of hesitation, she shouted, "WAIT."

The two froze now. Slowly, her sister and the Canadian turned to face the tensed up woman with extreme nervousness in their eyes.

"Does… Everyone here know something that I don't?"

That was exactly it. Matthew had already known the truth since the beginning, but Katyusha learned about the real reason behind to the switch back during the flight. It was during the brief period where Natalya had fallen asleep that Anneliese had told everything to her aunt. She explained the real purpose behind her and Anastasia's switch as a goal to try and reunite their parents, along with the fact that Alfred was now an engaged man once again. But, despite being engaged, he still had a sense of love for Natalya. The only reason they had brought Natalya back was in hopes that if he were to see her again, then he would call off the engagement.

"Mama…" Anastasia stood up now, taking in a deep breath. Katyusha and Matthew had braced themselves for Natalya possibly becoming angry again, while Anneliese stood beside her sister to confess the truth.

"...Daddy's getting married…" Anneliese had finished off what her sister had started; a frown now drew to her face.

Seconds passed, and no reaction came from Natalya. The woman simply stood there in silence, before her expression had softened from her angered one. Slowly, she settled herself back down on the couch and took in a deep breath. How… Since when did Alfred decide that he was ready to get married again? Why didn't anyone tell her in the first place?... Now the situation was even worse than it seemed.

"She's absolutely evil, mama!" Anastasia sat beside her mother now, trying to explain the situation, "The woman doesn't love him! She's only after his money!"

"We can't let him go through with it," Anneliese continued and crossed her arms now with her frown remaining on her face. To Natalya, what she was more shocked about was that Alfred had taken a long time to move on. Eleven years was a very long time… If he wanted to remarry, why didn't he do it years ago? "She is completely out of his league, and the only way he won't marry her…" Anneliese looked over at her sister, "You do it. She knows you better."

Anastasia looked at her sister now and nodded in understanding. It was there that she took her mother's hands; making Natalya look up at her daughter with her softened expression to reveal that she was listening, "Is if he sees _you_ again."

Natalya paused now, "Wait a minute…" She turned to face Anneliese, then back to Anastasia, and then over to her sister and former brother-in-law who had been all patiently waiting to see how she would react, "You're not trying to set me up with your father...?"

"We are." Anneliese blurted out, thus resulting in Anastasia to reach for one of the pillows on the couch and throw it at her sister. Honestly, she swore that Anneliese needed a button - that way she knew when to speak, because she clearly was speaking at the absolute wrong moments!

The softened expression on Natalya's face once again turned into not an angered one… But a bit of a bemused, annoyed one as well. It was there that she patted Anastasia's head, before standing up. Instead of being focused on her daughters, she immediately shot her head over to her sister and Matthew. A crazed look in her eyes as if she was not just annoyed at her daughters, but two reasonable adults who could have stopped the girls in the first place.

"Big sestraaa…" It was there that Katyusha let out a nervous chuckle as Natalya shot a glare to the man beside her, "You too, Matthew." Matthew let out a quivering smile, trying to play himself as innocent. But of course, this wasn't working at all, "Did you two know about this!?"

"What? The setting up?" Matthew began as he immediately shook his head.

"Not at all, Natya!" Katyusha tried to play it off as if it were nothing, "Honestly, it sounds like an adorable idea by the girls!..."

It had gotten to the point where Natalya had her hand out beside her. Katyusha and Anastasia _immediately_ knew what that had meant, but Anneliese and Matthew… No clue. It was there that Anastasia stood up and tried to pull her mother's arm back, but of course, her hand had already made contact with the dagger that had been hidden underneath her skirt, "Tell the truth!" Anastasia snapped at the two.

"Okay, we did!" Katyusha blurted out now. The entire time they stood there, Anneliese could feel her jaw drop. It was there that she looked at Anastasia, absolutely shocked at what she had just witnessed in the first place.

" _WAS MOM JUST ABOUT TO PULL OUT A DAGGE-"_

"-It was their idea, and it was very sweet…" Matthew continued, immediately shushing Anneliese from speaking further. Anastasia had let go of her mother's arm now; only to cover Anneliese's mouth.

Of course, the American girl was absolutely in shock. She knew that her mother could be scary, but she had no idea that the woman was armed! And especially wouldn't hesitate to take out a dagger of all things to express her anger! Then again, she didn't blame her mom for being angry. If someone had lied to her face once again after being lied to after a long trip from Moscow, she'd probably be pissed too.

Natalya put away the weapon now and took in a deep breath. She had fully understood the scenario now. The only reason the girls had switched was because they wanted her and their father to be together again. It made sense, and it was indeed a sneaky idea, but it was an idea that would only work in a fairy tale. Unfortunately for them, this was reality and not a story in a book.

"Okay… I see." The woman cleared her throat before approaching the middle of the room. That way, not only her daughters could see, but her sister and Matthew could see too, "Let me say this loud and clear. That way, _all_ of you can understand." She stated. Here we go….

"Alfred Jones and I have _absolutely_ nothing in common… Anymore!" Natalya's hands were in fists now. With one step forward, she began pacing back and forth in the room; that way she was able to make eye contact with everyone who agreed to participate in the plan in the first place, "Plus, in case you haven't noticed," She continued, "He seems _very_ content with his leggy, tight-skirted, sexy fiancée. I wouldn't be surprised if he decided to not cheat on her like he did with me because apparently, I didn't match to his standards of a wife!" It was then her attention turned to the two girls, who were silent in their places, "I want you two to explain to your father that I am here for _one_ purpose. And that one purpose is to switch the two of you back…"

Oh, this wasn't turning out good for the both of them. The entire time Anastasia and Anneliese listened, they couldn't help but to exchange looks with each other; finding it hard to believe _that's_ how things had to turn out.

"...Understood!?"


	17. Ch 16: The Reunion of a Family

**Chapter 16: The Reunion of a Family**

The second he was left in his suite alone, Alfred had been rummaging through his suitcase. He had planned to wear a particular outfit for later in the evening, but now? That didn't matter anymore.

The man quickly showered as fast as he could, brushed his teeth, combed his hair and even threw on one of the best suits that he was saving for. After what he had seen earlier, almost everything else didn't matter to him. His mind was in a state of awe after seeing a familiar face outside of that elevator.

He had managed to get Alice away from him for the next hour or so by asking her to look up nice places to go out for lunch. This would be enough time for him to get himself in his best appearance, along with prepare the words that he would say to _her_ once managing to find her.

Once he was ready, he left his room and walked down the hallway. To his dismay, he had saw 'Anneliese' walking down the hallway towards the direction of the room too! What he didn't know, was the girl that looked like his daughter walking that hallway was the incorrect daughter, "Hey 'Lise!"

"Oh, hey dad," Anastasia approached her father with an innocent smile as she pulled off the fake American accent she managed to keep for the time that she spent with him, "What's up?"

"I'm running down to the lobby - there's uh, someone here that I gotta talk to," Alfred responded, before noticing the look that his daughter was giving. Anastasia's eyes had lightened up upon the different appearance of her father. When they had arrived to the hotel, he had been wearing a simple t-shirt and pair of jeans… But a suit and tie? What was the occasion? "Also, before you go," He continued, "Would you keep Alice distracted in there? She's looking at places for lunch - go, uh, go help her find a good place."

Anastasia's eyes remained brightened regardless of what her father had been telling her. Instead, she simply nodded at whatever he asked her to do. All she was just shocked for was that he went from being so casual to looking like he was going to a wedding! "Mhm, sure dad!"

"Thanks sweet pea," Alfred smiled and ruffled her hair now, before grabbing her arm so she wouldn't go just yet, "Wait, one more thing…. How do I look?" It was there that he spun around for her; this making the girl giggle innocently. Oh, if her mother had said that him seeing her again wouldn't change his entire persona…

...But in response, she gave her father two thumbs up, "Great, dad. You look great." This made a smile appear on Alfred's face, and soon he had thanked his daughter with a kiss to her forehead and sprinted off to the nearest elevators.

If his daughter said he was looking good, then he believed it. 'Anneliese' wouldn't lie to him, right? Nah, he trusted her word. Even upon entering the elevator, he had taken out his phone and opened up the face camera; that way he could comb his hair back with his fingers - not wanting to seem like he had been rushing downstairs in the first place.

Alfred was ecstatic. What he had seen earlier… Was well, _completely_ unexpected, but he didn't want to let what he saw get away quickly. Oh no, it's been very long, and he wasn't going to make the same mistake of passing up the opportunity to see _her._

The elevator doors opened and Alfred stepped out; turning his head to see if what he saw was there. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything. _She must've gone somewhere_ , he thought to himself. As he was about to start walking though, he paused upon seeing his daughter once again. Anneliese? Wasn't she just upstairs-

"S'up dad!" Anneliese smiled now as Alfred's face became full of confusion.

"I thought I told ya to stay upstairs with Alic-" Alfred began, to which the girl innocently tilted her head at her father.

Of course, being just as confused as him, Anneliese blinked and questioned, "I was…?" Then it hit her. He must've seen Anastasia upstairs! She knew that Anastasia was upstairs because she was going to put on her bathing suit with their mother, but she didn't know she'd run into their father that quickly. Instead of questioning it further, she simply agreed to it, "Oh, yeah! I was just about to go do that."

The entire time Alfred stood there, he hadn't been paying attention. Still, he continued to move his head around to see if his eyes could make contact with the long-blonde Russian woman who he had made eye contact with earlier. His thoughts were interrupted though upon seeing Anneliese approach him and give him a tight embrace.

"It's good to see you, dad!" Anneliese began; her face pressed into her father's gut as the man laughed and hugged her back. He was confused, yes, but he figured that maybe Anneliese just missed him from being separated earlier due to the dog? It was an odd reason, but he wouldn't question it.

Instead, Alfred smiled at her and held onto her hands, "It's good to see you too, squirt-" That's when he saw it. The outfit she wore… If she was just upstairs, when did she suddenly change, "Uh, nice outfit." He complimented. Was she wearing that earlier? He stood there now, wondering if maybe his mind was playing a possible game. The man only had two sodas during the day, so he definitely knew he was seeing this correctly.

"Thanks dad," Anneliese laughed innocently before her father had motioned her to go to the elevator to head upstairs. The girl hummed a small tune as she did so; pressing the button to have the elevator come to her. She had no idea what this Alice person looked like, but based on how Anastasia interpreted her, she would probably be a sexy lady on the outside but on the inside, she was a demon.

The only other thing she knew about this woman too was that she was English. It amused Anneliese truly since she could tell that Alfred was really into European women if he went from her mother to someone from England.

As Anneliese waited patiently, she watched as the elevator opened to reveal a woman fitted in a tight, black dress and a grey jacket. She wore a red lip, her hair was now separated into two low pigtails while a pair of glasses rested on the top of her head. Anneliese didn't know her, but apparently, the mysterious woman did.

"Hey, where's your father?" Alice began; staring down at the child who gave her a confused look.

"...You talkin' to me?" Wait, this had to be the crazy fiancée! By the disgusted look the woman gave her when she said this, it was enough to confirm her suspicions. Anneliese looked up at the woman with an innocent grin, "Oooh… Alice…" Now it all made sense. Yeah, she was a beautiful woman… But not as sexy as her mom, that was for sure, "Uhh, yeah! I just saw him… He went…" She pointed in front of her; the _opposite_ direction her father had walked down. If her and Anastasia's plan were to work, then Alice had to be far away from Alfred, "...That way! I think."

An eyeroll was given by Alice as she put away her lipstick into her purse. It was there that Anneliese couldn't help but to properly examine the woman. One thing's for sure too, is that she figured her father had a thing for blondes too. But this blonde was the evil kind of one, while her mother was the blonde that worked hard and would cut someone if needed to. Alice didn't seem like the kind of woman who could win a fight.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" Alice asked as she noticed the child staring at her.

Oh shoot, busted, "Nothing." Anneliese responded as she took a step away from the woman; her arms innocently hanging from behind her, "You just look very pretty today, is all."

"Hmph…" Alice began walking away now, not really taking the compliment as anything. However, just before she had left, she stopped and turned to the child, "If you see your father, tell him I booked a table for lunch and I'm waiting!" She expressed and soon walked away from the scene. All Anneliese could do was snarl at the woman, before crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

"Whatever you say, Witch of the West."

Anneliese proceeded with entering the elevator once it arrived. Now that she knew that Alice wasn't upstairs, she had to make sure that she didn't find her father or even mother. Her mother should have been at the pool by now, so she figured there wasn't anything to worry about…

...Except, that's not where Natalya was. After she had changed into the appropriate swimwear, she found the hotel's bar. After everything that had taken place in the morning, all she wanted was another drink. Something specifically to take care of her migraine. So upon arriving to the bar, she had told the bartender to make herself a drink that would deal with all her troubles, and then proceeded to cover her face while the drink was being made.

"I can't believe them… Honestly…" She murmured to herself in frustration, and rightfully so. For her daughters to go behind her back and try to put her back together with their father? It was a recipe of disaster. When they were married, they rarely did get into any fights… But in her eyes, she considered Alfred a betrayer. The day she found him asleep on their couch with his arms around another woman was the day she knew she had to leave him. What made it even worse was that he had the audacity to say that it was the alcohol who made him do it, and not him… It pissed her off just thinking about it! He chose to drink, and that was when he chose to allow himself to be exposed to anything!

As Natalya sat there, another woman had taken a seat beside her. She didn't even acknowledge the other person's presence, seeing that her mind was in a completely different state at that moment.

Alice looked over at the bartender as she watched the drink he was making. Whatever it was, it seemed like the cure to the recipe of chaos. Based on the body language of the woman beside her though, she believed that it was for her. _Poor woman_ , she couldn't help but to think. It was there that she ordered herself a glass of rum before the bartender nodded and got to work.

"Here you go," The bartender began as he handed over a drink to Natalya. This made the Belarusian look up now as she stared at the drink. It… Didn't look right, "This'll cure you of anything you've got. Just don't ask what's in it."

That brought a bit of concern to Natalya, but as he had said, she didn't question it. Instead, she sat up from her slouched position and picked up the beverage; taking a small smell out of it. Whatever it was, it definitely didn't smell good, "Alright then…" She sighed and noticed the woman beside her being served a glass of rum. It was there that she held it out to her, speaking, "Here's to you," She began; this catching Alice's attention as she looked at the dazed woman in confusion, "May your life be less far complicated than mine." She sighed, before taking a large sip out of the drink.

It was a sudden compliment, but Alice didn't refuse it. She simply let out a small, "Thank you", before reaching for the glass of rum that was placed in front of her. One thing that Alice couldn't help but notice was that she felt as though she had seen the woman beside her somewhere… Her face was definitely familiar, but where has she seen it? Was it in _Vogue_? No, it couldn't possibly be. The woman she was thinking about looked more strict than the woman who sat beside her, seeming completely out of focus. It didn't help either too that Natalya had her hair pulled back into a high ponytail, sunglasses, flip-flops, a black two-piece bathing suit a white sweater that had a hockey team logo on it. She could not have been someone in _Vogue_.

Fortunately for her, her suspicions were indeed correct. As Natalya was handed over her check, she placed her mysterious drink down to quickly sign it and slide it towards the direction of the bartender. It was there that Alice managed to catch a glance of the check and the name on it. The Englishwoman choked now on her drink - this managing to catch Natalya's attention.

"...Uh, are you okay?" Natalya began; staring at the woman in confusion.

"Y-You're-!" Alice gasped and moved closer to the foreigner. Immediately, Natalya moved her body a bit back - a bit appalled by the sudden woman coming up to her, "You're Natalya Arlovskaya! The wedding dress designer from Russia, aren't you!?"

Oh… Now it all made sense. In response to this, Natalya nervously picked up her drink and gave a light chuckle, "...Guilty, I suppose."

It was there that Alice couldn't help but to let out a sudden shriek of excitement, "Pardon my behavior ma'am, but it is an honor to be meeting you. At a bar, nonetheless!" If anything, Natalya did give her points for that. It was definitely a weird encounter to meet a designer at a bar in a San Francisco hotel, for sure, "I _just_ saw a wedding dress you designed on _Vogue_ , and fell completely in love with it! But when I faxed your studio yesterday to ask if you can make another, they said you were out of town and didn't know when you'd be returning! It's fate!" It was there that she held out a hand, to which Natalya took it and gently shook, "My name is Alice Kirkland. I've been a fan of your designs for years!"

"Oh really…" Natalya began with slight hesitation in her tone as she took a quick sip out of her drink. If there was one thing she knew she wasn't good at, it was interacting with individuals who were interested in her work. It always did make her feel good knowing that her work was being acknowledged, though, "How do you do?..."

Meanwhile, the encounter had been taking place between the two woman, Alfred had continued onwards with his search. He had checked every department of the hotel, such as the gaming lounge (which he planned to bring Anneliese to later), the restaurant, and even asked the front desk if there was a woman by the name Natalya Arlovskaya staying at the hotel. Unfortunately, he couldn't get any information due to privacy policies, but that didn't stop him.

Eventually, he had ended up at the pool area. To every table where there had been people occupied at, he would peek over to see if there was anyone that fit the description of the woman he saw… But not once did he find it. He didn't even realize that as he got progressively closer to the pool that he accidentally bumped into people. He'd apologize quickly, but he'd be at it again due to his sudden behavior.

 _Where the hell is she?_ He asked himself now; refusing to let his hope die. He swore he saw her - It _was_ her when he was in that elevator! If he was only imagining things, then he'd be disappointed in himself knowing that he got himself in a suit and tie for nothing.

That was when he saw it. Upon looking up once more, his eyes widened. Coming from the exit from the bar, a woman that had fit the exact description of whom he saw earlier was walking down the stairs. She wasn't in the same clothes as before, but with her hair pulled back and in a two-piece bathing suit to go swimming… It was hard to believe that she had twins years ago!

Without letting another second to pass, he was after her. Alfred had pushed through people; keeping his eyes focused on her as she had stopped walking and put her sunglasses on. It seemed like she was approaching a group of people… But, who specifically?

A large smile had grew on Alfred's face as he went after her. He still couldn't believe it…! What was shocking to him was that they were at the same hotel on the same exact weekend! It had to be fate, it just had to. Unfortunately for him though, with not paying attention where he was walking, he had crashed into one of the tanning beds that ironically had been next to where Matthew, Francis, and 'Anneliese's' had been.

"Bro, you okay?" Matthew asked, but Alfred had simply waved him off and continued walking towards the direction of the woman.

It was then when it happened.

Without even realizing it, once again, Alfred had walked into a server carrying drinks. This caught Natalya's attention as she looked over; her brows widened at the scene that played out in front of her.

"Dad, watch out!" Anastasia had called out; standing up to try and grab his arm before he hurt himself… But it was too late.

A loud splash was made when Alfred had tripped in landed into the water. This made Anastasia gasp and cover her mouth, Anneliese burst out laughing while she was having sunblock put on by Katyusha who was shocked as well, Matthew was speechless and Francis… Well, had taken out his phone and was taking a picture of the soaked Alfred that stood in the water.

Natalya though… All she could do was look at the other and draw a hand to cover her mouth. Not to gasp in shock, but to laugh. Yes, it was very surprising to see Alfred compared to bef e, since the last time she saw him during the day was in a regular t-shirt and jeans… But now, there he was in a suit and tie, completely drenched in water. It was absolutely hilarious to her!

The laughing was what managed to make Alfred swim over to its source. He didn't even care if he was soaking wet and looked ridiculous. Instead, he pushed himself out of the water now and took in a deep breath. It was her… It, really was her. That same laughter he would hear all the time whenever he said something or even did something stupid. Even if it's been years - she still laughed at anything he did.

The more he came closer to her, the more Natalya's face reddened. While this wasn't the exact scenario she had in mind when speaking to Alfred again, she had to admit, it sure as hell made her day. She watched as the American approached her; removing the jacket that went along with his suit as he squeezed out the water as best he could before putting it back on. It was there that she pushed her sunglasses up to meet his eyes; her brows risen in amusement.

"Hello Nat.." Alfred broke the ice between the two of them now and found himself nervously squeezing the water out of his dress shirt now. In his eyes, he was absolutely shocked. There was no difference in appearance with her, or more of, he remembered her as the exact same woman who threw a knife at his face on that terrible day, but it was the same woman he loved and didn't regret marrying.

"Hi Alfred.." Natalya responded now. Her face was reddened now, but not from nervousness. More of from trying to hold back her laughter. Oh, she couldn't wait to tell her brother about how she witnessed her ex-husband fall into a pool and had the guts to approach her after eleven years in a suit and tie while drenched in water, "Did you… Have a nice fall?"

This made Alfred snicker a bit. Even after so long, she still managed to tease him over the idiotic things he did. But, one thing he did notice was how she looked at him. Naturally he thought she'd be surprised to see him, however, she wasn't. He brushed back his wet hair now with his fingers, "Yeah, I guess I should watch where I'm going." Natalya's brows rose in amusement to seeing him acknowledge his idiotic move that time, but she didn't comment on it, "So uhm, is there something I should know about? Because, I'm.. Stunned to see you, but uh…" He took a closer look at her, " _You_ don't seem stunned to see me."

That was a fair point. It was always difficult to read her, which was something that Natalya knew very well. But he was correct. She wasn't stunned nor shocked to see him. After being given the explanation by their daughters, her stunned state began to calm down. The drink she had at the bar as well was enough to fix her angered state too.

Alfred then continued, "I haven't seen you, in what… eleven years?" His tone was a bit nervous, to which Natalya nodded at him to confirm his statement, "And all of the sudden, today of all days-"

"-Dad…" A quiet voice came from behind Natalya. It was there that Anastasia popped out beside her mother; her arms resting in front of her as she looked up at the other. This made Alfred's eyes widen seeing his daughter next to Natalya… What was going on? "I can explain why she's here."

"'Lise, I-" Alfred was speechless. There was something he definitely was missing. It was there that he looked at Natalya, who was more focused on their daughter that was beside her, "Anneliese, do you know who she _is_?"

It was there that Anastasia looked up at her mother, unsure of what to say. With a small nod given by her mother, it was there that the girl turned to her father, then looked at the other girl who was hidden behind her mother as well, "I do…" She began, now pushing up the sunglasses she wore so she could look at her father properly before switching the fake American accent to her real voice, "And I'm not Anneliese."

"Actually…" Then the second girl had popped out from behind her. It was there that Alfred felt his eyes widening and hand being drawn to his head so he could take in what he was fully seeing right now. Anneliese looked at her father with a mischievous grin as she stood beside her sister, "I'm Anneliese."

Alfred looked at Natalya now. All he could see on her face was a genuine smile on her face. It wasn't a creepy smile she would normally give to others, oh no… It was, truly her confirming that the two girls that stood in front of them were their daughters, "Both of them…?" He took a step forward now. He first looked at the girl who had been in a simple swimsuit, hair in a ponytail and sunglasses on the top of her head, "Anastasia..?" He then looked over to the other girl, who this time was wearing the kind of clothing that she would wear on a normal basis; a pair of shorts, a normal t-shirt, and her hair down with a hairclip pulling back her bangs, "Anneliese!?"

"I guess you and mama both think alike, since you both sent us to the same camp." Anastasia explained, smiling at her father. It truthfully felt amazing to finally reveal her real self to her father. No more of the Anneliese persona that she was presenting herself as to trick him, "Anneliese and I met there, and the truth kind of just… Spilled out."

Natalya sighed softly now and placed her hands on top of each of the girl's heads, before turning to her ex-husband now to properly explain, "They switched places on us, Alfred… And you joked about that happening one day, so I blame you."

Alfred couldn't help but to start laughing now. If anything, he was more happy than shocked to see his ex-wife now. To know that there was an even bigger surprise to seeing her again made the entire trip to the hotel even better, "I don't care, I take full responsibility for our girls, Nat." He laughed now, before lowering himself to look at the girls properly.

Back when they were babies, he couldn't tell them apart. Even eleven years later, they were still difficult to tell apart. At least he would be able to though knowing that his second daughter ended up inheriting a heavy accent from living in Russia all her life.

"Wait, so," He shot up again, now realizing exactly how the switch worked, "Are you saying, I had Anastasia with me this entire time?"

The two girls began giggling innocently while Natalya had rolled her eyes in response, "Well, you see," Anastasia began as she moved back and forth with her heels and toes, "I really wanted to know what you were like, and Anneliese wanted to know what mama was like. Being told stories wasn't enough for the two of us to be satisfied."

"Well, with your uncle back home too, I can imagine the amount of shit he's said about me," Alfred snorted.

This was true. Whenever her father were to be mentioned back home in Russia, all Anastasia would hear from her uncle was all of these terrible things, which after being with him for a while, she could confirm they were half true, "Are you angry at us?"

"Hell no, honey," Alfred held out his arms to Anastasia now; the same grin of his only becoming larger and larger as the seconds passed, "I'm just can't believe it's you." It was there that Anastasia didn't hesitate to run into her father's arms now, hugging him in a close embrace. As Natalya stood there with Anneliese, she let her daughter hold onto her as the two watched the proper reunion take place with a daughter and father after so long.

Alfred had held onto his daughter tightly and placed a kiss against her forehead and cheeks. He couldn't believe that after long last he was able to see his second daughter. Most days he didn't like to think of his ex-wife, yes, because it would only remind him how much he missed Anastasia who lived on the other side of the globe, "The last time I saw you, you were pickin' a fight with your sister over a toy! Just look at you, holy crap!" He laughed and couldn't help but to cup her cheeks, to which Anastasia smiled and laughed at the statement he had given.

"Well, I'm quite grown up now," Anastasia expressed to him, "And still without a father, you know."

After a moment or so, he did let go of Anastasia and proceeded to glance over at Anneliese, who was hiding by her mother's side. It was then that Natalya forced the child to look at her father, where she gave a nervous chuckle and a innocent thumbs up.

"'Lise, you were all the way in freakin' Russia!?" Alfred began, absolutely blown away by the fact that she had been on the other side of the world, "Like, in Moscow and everything?" It was there that Anneliese nodded, to which he couldn't help but to facepalm and rub his temples, "Did ya see how crazy they are over there? They drink vodka as if it were water!"

"Hey!" It was there that both Natalya and Anastasia snapped at him in offense, to which Alfred held his hands up innocently to express that he was joking and all.

Anneliese laughed at that statement and shook her head. While it was indeed true Russia was very different to America, she loved the experience in the different country, "Well, I'm entering my crazy teenager years and I had to go, because I need to have a mother that'll help me fight next to those crazy hormones." It was there that she looked at her mother, where Natalya chuckled into her hand in response to the cute statement.

"Alright alright, no more excuses." It was then that Alfred once again held out his arms, this time to his other daughter, "Get in these arms you punk." Anneliese listened to her father's request, before approaching him in a tight embrace. Just as he did with Anastasia, Alfred had kissed Anneliese's forehead and cheeks while giving her a tight squeeze.

While in her father's arms, Anneliese had stood on her toes. This made Alfred lean in a bit, because whenever she did this, it meant she had to tell him something. So in a whispered tone, the girl told her father, "Mom's absolutely amazing, dad…" She began, "I still don't understand how you could ever let her go from your life."

"Yeah…" Alfred whispered in response with a nod, "I know."

Natalya felt her face redden hearing the conversation between her ex and daughter. She looked down now at her other daughter, who simply gave a large smirk on her lips because she also heard what was said, "Alright girls," The woman spoke up now, motioning over to the tanning beds where her sister and their uncle was, "Why don't you let your father and I talk alone for a moment, okay?"

"Alrighty~" Anneliese grinned as she began to back away; giving finger guns to her father as Alfred rose a brow at the gesture.

"Take your sweet time~" Anastasia continued, before running off with her sister to leave the two be. If anything, all the twins hoped was that whatever took place during their conversation would be a bonus to their plan.

Once the two were alone, Natalya turned to face Alfred now with a innocent shrug and smile while he stood there in still, complete shock. He noticed an open sun chair now, where he reached for a towel and began dabbing himself dry from the previous incident, "I absolutely still can't believe this," He began as he sat down. Natalya sat beside him and crossed a leg over the other, watching him as he began to dry himself off, "Seeing them together? Then seeing _you_?"

"You and me both," Natalya responded in agreement. It was still a shock to her that she was seeing Alfred again after all these years. The day she left him, she told him that she never wanted to see his face ever again, and if she did, she'd make him regret it. But of course, there they were, face to face. Of course, Natalya didn't follow up to her promise, but she was more shocked than angry at him to even pursue with the action.

"So… How are you, Natty?" Alfred found himself lean over in interest now. This made Natalya freeze in her seat and look away slightly in nervousness, "I mean… Can I still call you that? Or do you go by Ms. Arlovskaya now? Natalya?"

Even if the man made her nervous, what he said made her want to laugh a bit on the inside. It was there that she nodded in response. "Well, I told you I hate 'Natty', but you still called me it anyway even after we met." This was true. The day where they went on their first date, he always said that the name 'Natalya' sounded too formal. It was there that he came up with the nickname 'Nat', then 'Nat' turned into 'Natty', which turned into the official name he gave her whenever talking about her, "But uh… I've been terrific, I suppose."

It had gotten to the point where Alfred had been a close distance to the other now. If one were to look closely, one could see the goosebumps forming along Natalya's arms out of sheer angst that she had been experiencing at that moment. How was she supposed to react to seeing him after so long?

"You know…" He gave a smile to her now; finding himself place a hand on top of hers. Natalya immediately froze on the spot, now in a bit of a panicked state. If there was one thing that made her go crazy about Alfred, was that damn smile he would always pull with her. Now, he was using the same trick on her again, "You seriously have not changed a bit. It's still a shock to me that you had twin girls in the first place and you.. Well, look amazing after eleven years-"

"-FINALLY!" Natalya and Alfred both jumped from being started at the sudden voice. The two immediately looked at each other, noticed their hands, and pulled back a good distance acting as if _that_ had just not happened. But based on the images that Francis managed to capture on his phone of the two looking at each other and the girls giggling beside him as they scrolled through the collage, oh, it happened.

The divorced couple looked up only to meet a familiar face that they had both met. To Natalya, it was the woman she met at the bar and listened to her speak about a wedding dress being designed for her. To Alfred…. It was his fiancée.

"I've been looking everywhere for you, Alfred!" Alice continued; recognizing the woman that sat beside him. She gasped in response and her face brightened up, "Oh, you two met? Perfect! I'm so glad to see-"

Natalya exchanged a confused look with Alfred before returning their attentions to the Englishwoman.

"This is the talented woman I was telling you about! The one I read about in _Vogue_ who designs dresses in Russia, remember?" Hearing this made Alfred's expression pale. Yes, he did very well remember the conversation they had. It was over lunch the week before the camp came to an end for the twins. He had been listening to Alice on the phone talk about a specific Russian designer, and the second he asked who she was and was given the name… He told Alice he had to go and hung up the phone, "Well, I was having a drink with her earlier, and she agreed to make my wedding dress. Isn't that amazing?"

All of the sudden, it clicked. It was almost as if a plug was put into its outlet, and immediately a lightbulb lit up in Natalya's head. She looked over at Alfred and could herself agreeing to the other woman's statement, "Ahh… So _this_ is your fiancée!"

Alfred's face became even more paler and paler as the seconds passed. Oh, this is not how he wanted things to go. But unfortunately, it seemed that it had to. He looked over at Natalya now and chuckled nervously, "I uh, didn't know you were designing my fiancée's wedding dress…"

"Mhm," The innocent smile on Natalya's face turned into a large grin, "I didn't even know _she_ was your fiancée in the first place."

Alice couldn't help but to notice the tension that produced between the two of them. She stared for a moment and tilted her head, "Wait, uh," She began as she watched Natalya and Alfred both stand up from the bed, "I'm a bit lost here, pardon me… How did you two meet?"

"Yes, Alfred," Natalya shot a look over at the male beside her, "Why don't you tell her how we met, hm?"

As Alice stood there with her arms crossed; confusion arose to her expression as she waited for the American to explain how exactly he knew Natalya. She knew the man had a lot of connections, so she couldn't help but to wonder maybe he already had been in contact with Natalya about the wedding dress after she had told him about it? The more the seconds passed, she found her confusion transition into irritation.

"You know," Alfred laughed nervously as he approached Alice now, "This is one small world."

"Hmm?" Alice leaned forward now, her brows risen in interest, "How small, Alfred?"

Natalya stood there silently while gazing over at Alfred. Oh, she was excited to see how this fiancée of his would react when she realized that the Belarusian wasn't just a wedding dress designer. One thing she did notice as she was standing were the twins running over to them. She stared at her daughters in confusion and had been just about to say something, but they beat her to it.

"Hi Alice!" Anastasia first approached her from the right with an innocent smile. Alice simply rolled her eyes at the child and returned the 'hello' with a nod, before returning her attention to Alfred.

"What's up?" Then stood out Anneliese right next to her sister. The twins looked up at Alice now, whose face went from a blank one, to one that had her mouth opened and eyes widened.

Alice gasped and shrieked from being startled at the sight of the two girls that she couldn't help but to back away. She immediately glared at Alfred, demanding an explanation to what she was seeing, "So, uh, Alice…" Alfred began as he approached his daughters and placed a hand on each of their heads, "Did I ever tell you that Anneliese was a twin?"

"No!" The Englishwoman snapped, clearly not happy at the fact that Alfred had forgot to tell her one of the biggest things that he could ever tell a partner. Seeing the woman's reaction though did make Natalya snicker slightly in amusement. It was also then that Natalya considered maybe lowering down the twins' days of being grounded too for startling the fiancée, "You did _not_ tell me anything about that!"

"Don't feel bad about it Alice," Anneliese began as she innocently grinned at the other, "My dad didn't tell me either... By the way, I'm the real Anneliese." It was there that she held out a hand, motioning over to her look alike beside the woman, "This is Anastasia. She was pretending to be me while I was pretending to be her," Anneliese then turned to face her mother, who was in the middle of trying not to laugh. With her hand shifting focus from Anastasia to her mother, she continued, "And _this_ is our mother. Natalya Arlovskaya."

Alice looked at the girls in front of her, moving her head back and forth to shift her focus so she could understand this properly, " _She_ is your mother?"

"Yes." Both girls responded at the same time.

"You," Alice pointed to Natalya, who stood there with the same large smirk on her face, "Were _married_ to him?" She pointed to Alfred now, who was chuckling nervously.

Natalya nodded and returned the response with a light chuckle before playfully, more of like hitting roughly, Alfred on the back, "We sure were. And I'll happily share how it ended too-" Alfred immediately covered Natalya's mouth now, which made her glare at him angrily while the twins simply laughed at their parents' odd behavior.

However, Alice wasn't laughing, "My my, this really is a small world." She began as her arms were still crossed and now was finding her expression to become even more annoyed as seconds passed, "And what a coincidence that we're all here at the same hotel on the same weekend. My my my…

...How sweet."


	18. Ch 17: Operation Parent Trap continues

**Chapter 17: Operation Parent Trap continues**

"Anneliese, I've had enough surprises for today." Alfred began with a bit of a whine to his tone. Of course, despite his words, Anneliese didn't listen to her father as she dragged him outside of the Stafford. The two were dressed to the 9's. Anneliese had been wearing a blue dress with a light, white jacket around her and her hair pulled back into a bun, while her father had been wearing another suit and tie. This time, he wasn't wet compared to before when he fell into the pool, "Can you _please_ tell me where we're going?"

Once the two were outside, Anneliese looked at her father with a smile drawn to her lips, "Oh, you're gonna love it dad. Trust me." She reassured him and turned to face a vehicle that had driven up to them. _Perfect timing_ , she thought to herself as she watched her sister step out of the vehicle, then her mother.

Anastasia had been wearing a white gown with ruffles on the skirt, while her hair was down yet halfway pulled back with a hair barrette. For Natalya though, she had been wearing the dress that her sister picked out for her back in Moscow. A black dress, that hugged just every right area of her body while her hair was down to her back and curled at the ends. To complement the dress, she wore the same locket that her daughters wore, along with some black heels and a bit of make-up to brighten up her face.

"Hello…" Natalya spoke once her eyes met Alfred's. The American found his heart practically pounding out of his chest. The last time he had seen his ex-wife in such beautiful attire… Hell, it was a long time, but he swore that she still managed to look good, even if she hated being dolled up, "So… I heard that there was going to be dinner?"

"That's what I was told too," Alfred cleared his throat nervously and glanced over at the girls. Anneliese and Anastasia had been standing in front of the vehicle now, waiting for their parents to climb in first before they did.

Natalya noticed this and took a step towards the vehicle she had just climbed out of to greet herself to the other two. It was when Alfred joined her in the car that she leaned in and whispered, "Do you have any idea where we're going?"

"I was hoping you did, Nat." The man responded, this being an indicator that he had no idea what was going on. As expected, their daughters had been planning things behind their backs. All Natalya did in response was sigh and nod in understanding. If he didn't know, then there was nothing else to be addressed.

The trip to the said restaurant was about a twenty-minute drive. Most of it had been silent between her and Alfred, but the twins had been in a intense conversation. Their whispers were hard for the two parents to hear, so whenever they would giggle, Alfred and Natalya would simply exchange a confused expression to indicate that they had no idea what their daughters were planning.

Through the help of Katyusha and Matthew playing the adult role in the place, Anneliese and Anastasia proposed the idea of recreating the dinner that their parents had met at. They weren't in Washington D.C., yes, but resorts did exist within the San Francisco area. The two booked a private reservation through their aunt and uncle's help at a restaurant. It was expensive, yes, but they were freely allowed to decorate it as they wished.

Thus, earlier in the day, the twins proceeded with decorating it similarly to the dinner their parents were at thanks to the photos that Katyusha was able to provide. They had asked the chef to create the same food that was given at the dinner, the same music - everything.

Upon arrival, the girls stepped out of the vehicle first, followed by Alfred who held out a hand to Natalya to help her out. She took the hand and thanked the other once stepping out, before allowing her eyes to examine the area they were in. It was a resort… A regular resort that most families would probably come on vacation with their kids.

"Where are we?" Natalya asked her daughters in confusion.

Anneliese and Anastasia simply exchanged a look with each other before taking stand in front of their parents. Anastasia was the first to speak, "Mr. Jones and Ms. Arlovskaya, your dinner awaits you inside."

The divorced couple looked at each other now. Were they serious?... A dinner inside of a resort that probably was the equivalent to college tuition of four years? "Alright, how did you two manage to scrape up the money for this?" Alfred asked as he followed the girls inside. It was there that Anneliese and Anastasia exchanged looks with each other, trying to find the right answer to give.

"We dug into our allowances…" Anneliese answered as they walked through the lobby of the resort; resulting in Anastasia to facepalm.

"I call… Oh, do you smell that?" Alfred popped his head in between the girls, "I smell… Mm… _Horseshit_."

It was there that Anastasia whacked her sister's side, making Anneliese pout a little bit. It was an answer, but it was a wrong answer, that was for sure. Seeing how their father was easily able to pick up the lie too, Anastasia had lost all hope for her sister.

"We asked Dyadya Vanya to chip in a bit…" Anastasia explained. It was still a lie, but it was partially the truth.

This made Natalya scoff in response. How the hell did they manage to get her brother to agree to that? "I don't believe you." She responded, "He paid for the entire thing, didn't he?"

Anastasia and Anneliese nervously chuckled now. It was true - How were two girls such as themselves able to pay a large resort to private an entire restaurant venue for one night?

"Most of it," Anastasia answered innocently, thus making her mother sigh heavily. Once they were home, she made a mental note to pay as much as she could back to her brother. Though it irritated her just the slightest that he agreed to this too… But then again, he said he'd do anything for his nieces.

As they entered the restaurant, they were welcomed by the sound of orchestral music from a nearby radio. There had been candles set on every table to compliment the white tablecloth, but one thing that managed to catch Natalya and Alfred's attention was a sign that had said; 'Dinner of the Nations' with the year of when the two had met.

Natalya drew a hand to her mouth to cover it in shock as she realized exactly what the girls had planned. Alfred had found himself in a similarly shocked as his ex-wife, now recognizing exactly what the big surprise actually was. However, aside from their shocked states, the two did notice that there was only one table set up with two plates and not four.

"Uhm," Alfred looked over at Anneliese and Anastasia who stood by the entrance of the kitchen, "There are only two plates set up,"

"That's the next part of the surprise," Anneliese explained with an innocent grin similarly to the one on her sister's face.

Anastasia folded her arms behind her back, "We're not joining you two for dinner."

"You aren't?" Natalya questioned, a bit confused on why they had changed their minds in the first place. Then again, the girl's have been lying the entire time they were at the hotel and always pulling out surprises. So she believed she shouldn't have asked in the first place.

Instead, the parents didn't question what the girls had planned. If there was a purpose behind it, such as specifically what they told Natalya, the likelihood of it having any effect was slim. Though, one thing that definitely surprised the two was seeing Natalya's older sister walk in with a tray of food.

Natalya choked on her breathing from being startled, "Sestra, what are you doing here?"

"Playing your server for this evening," Katyusha responded as she motioned the two over to the table that had been set up for them. It was while Natalya and Alfred were distracted by the Ukrainian that the twins ran into the kitchen, "Or more of, letting your eleven-year-olds have their early birthday present of being me agreeing to this."

This made Natalya's jaw drop in response seeing that her sister agreed to their little dinner plan. But Alfred, he was laughing. His and Natalya's daughters were truly something else. If it were he and Matthew pulling this sort of thing when they were younger, the wouldn't get away with it that easy for sure.

Once the two were seated, Katyusha had left the room momentarily to retrieve the starters of the dinner. It was this time though that Matthew had entered with two glasses of poured out wine; handing it to the both of them.

"No way man…" Alfred started laughing seeing that his brother had _also_ agreed to play server too. The quieter man simply smirked at his brother, followed by giving a gentle smile at Natalya who sat there speechless at the scene, "How'd they convince you?"

Matthew shrugged in response after handing over the glasses, "Ehh… Nothing really, actually," He answered, "More of I like their mother more than their future step-mom." He answered bluntly, before turning around and exiting the room; thus, leaving the two alone.

With the glass of wine in her hand, Natalya gazed at it in silence, still speechless. Was her and Alfred's family now in on this little plan that the girls had devised? She thought she was a brat at eleven years old, but her daughters… Well, they were very intelligent. A smart duo, for sure, that continued to underestimate her as days passed.

"So…" She began after taking a sip out of the glass of wine she handed over, "They're recreating the day we met, hm?" Natalya hoped that at least Alfred was able to recognize the decorations and selection of music. Based on his response to her statement, it wasn't long until he was nodding in agreement with her.

"Sneaky punks..." Alfred couldn't help but to call out on them now, which made Natalya laugh softly in agreement. At least he wasn't the only one that still couldn't believe their daughters managed to pull this throat, "You know they get this from you."

Natalya coughed slightly from choking on her wine a bit at Alfred's statement. Oh, so he was saying that their daughter's behavior was from her specifically? "Intelligence, yes," She held out her glass to him, "Sneakiness, from you."

As the two engaged in conversation, the twins had been peeking from the bar that was connected to the restaurant. Their eyes were peeking over its edge as the table itself was able to hide their entire bodies. That way while their parents conversed, they wouldn't be caught. But of course, with the giggling that came from the table, it wasn't long until the divorced couple glanced over at the source of the sound.

"Shut up!" Anastasia gasped as she covered Anneliese's mouth, whose face was still red from laughing at how their parents were going in for the trap.

Alfred sighed and couldn't help but to chuckle a bit, "Now I can understand what it's like to be a goldfish," He did have a point, which Natalya couldn't help but to agree with a nod too. Even if the dinner was supposed to be 'between them', her sister, his brother, and their daughters were watching everything they were doing as they sat at the table.

"You know Natty… Sometime when we're really alone," It was then that Alfred leaned forward a bit. Natalya had leaned as well, seeing that he was speaking in a whispered tone, "I'd… Like to talk about what happened between us."

Natalya sat back in her seat when hearing this and sighed. What was there to say about the situation? He knew clearly well why she had left in the first place, so there was nothing more to be discussed. Well, now that the girls knew about them and the reason they were separated from each other as infants… It made the whole situation a bit more difficult than it was, "Well, it ended really fast…"

"It also started fast too," Alfred couldn't help but to give the other a cheesy grin, thus resulting in Natalya to laugh a bit. Okay, he was right about that. The two of them were married only a month after meeting and Natalya became pregnant about four months later after their marriage. Just as their life as a married couple and parents began fast, it also came to an end too when the twins were six months old.

To move along from the conversation, Natalya figured she'd transition the subject, "So, from what I've heard, you've done fantastically well so far with the wine business, hm? Your dream of owning your own vineyard actually came true."

"And so did your dream of becoming a wedding dress designer," Alfred responded as well as he reached for a piece of bread that was on the table, "I still remember how you'd draw on napkins and corners of newspapers… And somehow was able to tie a chemical equation into the sketch too," Natalya laughed at this statement, "But either way, you're a major designer and still a researcher… That's crazzyy."

"It's interesting…" By this time, Natalya had already finished her glass of wine and already had reached to the bottle on the table to pour herself another. _Still good at holdin' your liquor, huh Natty?_ , Alfred couldn't help but think to himself while eating the piece of bread, "We both were able to achieve our dreams,"

Katyusha had returned to the room with two bowls of soup. As Natalya and Alfred were in the middle of their conversation, she placed the bowls in front of them, though couldn't help but eavesdrop a bit into what they were discussing about.

"So, what are we going to do about the girls?" Natalya asked as she gave a glance at her sister, followed by a nod to thank her. The purpose of them seeing each other again was to, after all, switch them back. But now that Anneliese had been exposed to her mother and Anastasia had been exposed to her father… It was going to be much more difficult to have the two return to their normal lives now.

Alfred could understand what Natalya meant when she asked this question. He reached over for a spoon for his soup and stirred it slightly, "Well, now that they met, we're pretty much limited with our options. It's impossible to keep them apart."

"Well, I could keep them for the first half of the year," Natalya began with a bit of thought to her tone, "And then you can keep them for the second half-"

"-I'm sorry to interrupt," Katyusha spoke over her sister, thus resulting in Natalya to silence. If anything, she had forgotten that her older sister was there in the first place for a couple of seconds, "Natalya, you can't have them changing schools each year. Anastasia has her multiple studies and I'm sure Anneliese has plenty of studies in California too."

"Kat's right," Alfred agreed with the other, which made Natalya cross her arms and look at the American now, wanting to hear what he'd suggest. It was difficult for her to reach a compromise, so she doubted that Alfred would have one too, "Listen, Natalya-" At this point, Katyusha had already left the two to engage in their private conversation, "The whole you keep Anastasia and I keep Anneliese - _this_ is why we came up with that proposal."

Natalya had taken a small spoonful of soup and brought it to her lips, having a small taste before putting the contents of it into her mouth. She swallowed quickly and sighed, "Oh really? I thought it was because we didn't want to see each other again."

"Not _we_ , Natty." Alfred corrected her. The day she had decided to leave him, it was something that he didn't want at all. The whole divorce, separating their daughters… It was all something that he didn't want. But of course, he followed through with it seeing that Natalya refused to forgive him after he had messed up once, and rightfully so… So he didn't blame her, "So, you don't remember the day you packed?"

"Oh no, that day I remember perfectly," Natalya responded; a small eyeroll given by her while she reached for some bread herself. This time, she tore it apart and dipped it slightly into her soup before taking a bite out of it.

The memory of it was almost as if it were yesterday. It was the same day she had caught Alfred with the mistress he had brought home after having too much to drink. She didn't wake him up when she discovered them. All she had done was put the twins down for a nap, grabbed her suitcase, and packed what belongings she believed were important. She had booked a room at a nearby hotel so she'd be able to figure out what to do about the situation. It was after she had finished packing her belongings that Alfred had found her in their bedroom with the suitcase in hand.

Then the chaos ensued. He had come up to her nervously and instead of asking her what she was doing, he told her that he had messed up big time. Alfred came to her rather than tried to hide the fact that he had cheated on her since he was the kind of man that didn't believe in lying in a marriage whatsoever. But of course, when Natalya asked him why he did it, he had responded that it was the alcohol that made him do it.

And it made her livid.

Natalya had told him that she was disgusted by his response and she thought he would have been much smarter to pull a move like that. When Alfred had tried to get her to calm down, it had even gotten to a point where she reached for a nearby hairdryer and threw it at his head! It was enough of an impact to get him down to the ground and dazed out for a bit.

Though when he came to his senses, all he had seen was his wife with their twin daughters in her arms at the door with an angered look on her expression.

" _And for that, we're done."_

The rest was history. A heavy sigh managed to escape Natalya's lips as she reached for her glass of wine; swirling the contents of the beverage in her glass, "...Did it hurt when I threw that… hairdryer at you?"

The sudden statement made Alfred grin a bit. If she had been asking the same question the moment it happened, he'd probably be screaming yes at her in pain. But now that it's been over a decade, he couldn't help but to start laughing at it. This made Natalya begin to laugh a bit too, since well, from both perspectives - just imagining a young mother throw a hair dryer at her husband after catching him in bed with another person was, well, it was almost similar to a soap opera.

"Yeah, it did," Alfred responded once they managed to calm down. This made Natalya blush a bit in embarrassment before she turned her head away.

"Sorry about that…" Though of course, while she was apologizing she was still smiling. Alfred had been smiling too, because yes, it has been years - but it showed that they weren't the same as they were now. They were older, more mature, and sure did have a better grasp at life than their twenty-two year old selves.

Alfred's expression became more serious after a moment. Ever since that day, he did want to ask her one specific question, "So, after that day you packed…" He began; his tone becoming quieter a bit. It was a sad memory for him to touch, yes, but he had to know, "Why did you leave?"

Natalya was silent now. It was a fair question, but she thought that he already had known. If he swore to know her, then he would know that her morals had her thinking about cheating in a specific way, "Oh Alfred…" She sighed, "We were so young… You were just a year above the drinking age, so no experience with alcohol either," As she explained this, she took a sip out of her wine, "It angered me with how you blamed alcohol for your behavior… But, you know to me - it was your choice to drink with your friends. You decided to pick up that beer can," Alfred's facial expression softened now as he listened, "Alcohol isn't an excuse for cheating. I was going to forgive you… But if you didn't blame something as stupid as alcohol and instead admitted to making a shitty mistake… Maybe we'd still be married."

There was one thing that Alfred never forgot about Natalya, and that she was a deep individual with plenty of morals. There are many people that he knew while growing up that if a spouse cheated on them, they'd forgive them and all would be okay. But with Natalya, she was different. She had a strong bias towards the concept of it and she admitted to him that she was about to forgive him until he had said the wrong words. It made him realize that not only blaming your behavior on something else is a terrible excuse, but words were the most powerful things to exist.

"You didn't go after me either," Natalya continued in a lowered tone, which definitely managed to catch Alfred's attention, "I was calmer by the time I boarded that plane with Anastasia… We could have talked, but you just stood there and… Let us go."

"I…" Alfred took in a deep breath; still taking in all of the new information, "I didn't know you wanted me to go after you."

"Well…" Natalya dismissed her small explanation to him by finishing up her bowl of soap, followed by using a napkin to wipe her lips, "There's nothing more we can do other than put on a smiling face for our daughters."

The dinner truly left Alfred with many thoughts. He found himself thinking even after finishing dinner and leaving with Natalya and their daughters. Hearing the truth was something that he did need to hear, but it also was a pain in his chest too. At least he was able to understand now. He supposed the good part about it was that he knew Natalya didn't hate him. All he knew was that she didn't agree with his behaviors from back then and it made her angry. But the idea of hatred, as he thought for many long years - there was no need to worry about it any further.

The following morning was check-out of the hotel. The compromise that Alfred and Natalya agreed to was switching the girls for each holiday so not only they wouldn't miss school, but they would be able to spend time with each parent successfully.

"Alright, so," Natalya began as she stood at the check-out table with Alfred; retrieving important documents such as her, her sister's, and Anastasia's passports along with their tickets, "I'll get Anneliese for Christmas…"

"...And I'll get Anastasia for Thanksgiving." Alfred finished off the statement as the two looked at each other and gave a nod. That was the deal, and it seemed like a deal that would work out in the end.

Anastasia and Anneliese had been standing behind their parents in silence as the two watched them converse while checking out. They were not happy about the proposal they had agreed with, thus why they purposely came down to the lobby in the same exact clothing. The twins weren't going to allow their parents to separate them that easily, thus why with their two minds, they came up with an idea.

"Why are you two dressed like that?" Natalya asked after she had reached for her handbag, "Come on Anastasia, we'll be saying goodbye at the front of the hotel-"

"-Excuse me, mama," Anastasia interrupted her mother, thus making Natalya look over at Alfred in confusion. All the man did was give a simple shrug in response, obviously unaware of what exactly their daughters were planning, "Let me explain," She continued, "Anneliese and I thought about it, and we believe that this is unfair."

"Dad promised we'd go on a camping trip, and we want to go, _together_." Anneliese continued for her sister.

This managed to catch Natalya's attention. A camping trip, hm… She knew that Alfred was the outdoor type; especially since after they were married they spent their honeymoon in a cabin in the woods - But she didn't expect for him to bring the idea of camping to their daughters. She even didn't know that Anastasia had taken an interest to the outdoors as well, "This is ridiculous," Natalya spoke as she crossed her arms, "Anastasia, go back upstairs and change your clothes."

"Are you sure I'm Anastasia?" It was then that Anastasia changed her accent to the American one she had learned through Anneliese. That made Natalya blink in confusion.

Oh no, she wouldn't allow for the girls to fool her that easily again. She'd admit that the girls were very talented with picking up each of their accents, but this time she refused to let it slide, "Of course I'm sure."

"But isn't it difficult to be a hundred percent positive, mama?" Anneliese responded in a Russian accent with a bit of a grin to her lips, "You wouldn't want to send the wrong daughter all the way back to Russia, would you?"

This made Natalya roll her eyes in frustration. After that mini-vacation they had experienced, she didn't like these games that her daughters played with her and Alfred. It truly was the karma for having twins, "Anastasia." She snapped now.

"Yes?" The two girls responded in the same Russian accented voice that Anastasia would speak in.

Natalya turned to Alfred now with an annoyed expression on his face. She didn't understand why he didn't say anything. Though when he did notice, he turned over to his daughters, "Girls, you're going to make your mother late for her flight. Cut the act." The two girls simply shook their heads to their father's demand. Natalya had facepalmed in frustration at this point, but of course, Alfred believed he could figure it out.

Alfred approached the two girls; his eyes narrowing at each of them to see if he could establish any differences between the two. From afar, they were spitting images of each other. Same face, same eyes, same practically everything. But from a close-up, maybe he'd be able to distinguish a difference? The man looked at the girl who stood on the right, then the girl who stood on the left before pointing her finger at her, "This one's Anneliese. I know it."

"Oooh, I hope you're right dad." He was indeed correct that it was Anneliese, but alas, the two girls would not let this slide easily. Instead, Anneliese looked at her father and tilted her head innocently, which her sister did the same beside her, "It would be really bad if you sent the real Anneliese to Russia."

"It would be really, really bad, dad," Anastasia responded with a nod.

Alfred was stumped now. He stood up straight and looked at Natalya, who seemed just as confused now. Perhaps this was one of the consequences for separating the girls in the first place. Instead of being able to learn their differences, the two parents were in a situation where their daughters could easily turn against them and make them confused.

"Here's our proposition," Anastasia took a step forward towards her parents while still maintaining the American accent. She motioned her sister over to her so she wouldn't be the only one speaking, "We go back to dad's house, pack our stuff, and the _four_ of us leave on the camping trip."

Were they serious? The more seconds passed, the more Natalya found herself irritated at the fact that she was just letting her girls get away with trying to persuade her and Alfred. And it was the most rudest way possible; by confusing their minds! "The four of us?!"

"And when you bring us back," Anneliese continued from where her sister had left off, "We tell you who's Anneliese, and who's Anastasia."

It wasn't that bad of a deal, at least, Alfred believed. To Natalya, she found the whole thing ridiculous, "Or," The Belarusian woman began, "What you do is that you listen to your parents, and I take one of you back with me whether you like it or not."

Unfortunately, in the end, Natalya's compromise didn't reach a consensus. With realizing the difficulties that would come with bringing the wrong daughter back to Russia being extreme, she decided to not allow herself or even her family with Alfred to go through that. Thus, she agreed to the girls' proposal, and Alfred had gone along with the decision seeing that he was more confused on who was who rather than which daughter would be going back with his ex-wife.

It had been two days since the incident had taken place at the hotel with the girls tricking their parents into the camping trip. Alfred had welcomed Natalya and her sister to stay at his house until the whole problem would come to an end, which the two didn't mind and appreciated.

It was amazing to Natalya though to see just how large of a house Alfred owned. Back when they were first married, they were just starting their careers. Natalya was a recent college graduate working at a laboratory on most days while during her free time, she would send her designs out to a variety of businesses to sponsor her designs for wedding dresses. For Alfred, he had been working quite closely with the government - but not as that close compared to Natalya's brother. Though on his free time, he had been networking very well and managed to build himself a business with a vineyard.

The changes in their lives only happened after the divorce, though. It made Natalya wonder what life would be like if they still were married… Would she be just as successful as she was now? Would Alfred have his dream of owning a vineyard? Honestly, she didn't know.

The day of the camping trip arrived eventually. The twins had helped their father load up the jeep that he owned, while occasionally running back inside the large house to make sure they didn't forget anything. But of course, each time they ran inside, Alice had spoken her mind about the idea of her fiancée going on a camping trip.

"And what am I supposed to do for three days?" Alice questioned the American who had been in the middle of bringing large cases of water to the jeep. The more and more Alice demanded an answer, the more he simply wanted to tell her to calm down. But of course, he knew to never tell a woman to calm down, "Sit here and knit?"

"Alice," Alfred took in a deep breath and looked over at his fiancée after putting down the waters. Followed by this, he went to retrieve another sleeping bag that the girls had left on the porch for him to bring to the jeep, "We're kinda in a sticky situation," More of a sticky situation caused by his and Natalya's daughters, that for sure.

"Sticky situation?" Alice scoffed in response, "The bloody hell do you mean, 'sticky situation'? What exact-" That was when she saw it. Upon hearing footsteps come down from the door, her eyes widened once seeing Natalya standing there. The European woman had been wearing hiking boots, a t-shirt with a logo from her older brother's favorite hockey team back from Russia, a pair of shorts and on her back she had a backpack with essential hiking items while her hair was pulled into a high ponytail.

An angered glare immediately was given by Alice, "What's _she_ doing here?!" She whispered in a low tone as Natalya approached the two of them.

"You see," Alfred continued with the point he was trying to make, "That's part of the deal. The four of us, me, Nat, Anneliese and Anastasia - we all go on the trip, together."

"-Sorry to interrupt," Natalya began now in an innocent tone. If anything, everyone inside the house could hear Alice bickering to the American about the entire trip. It was amusing to all of them, but Natalya, being the savage that she was, decided to add fuel to that fire, "But where do you keep the logs for the fire?" It was there that Alfred looked over at his ex-wife and pointed to the garage, to which she nodded in response as a way to express thanks. But of course, Natalya wasn't done yet.

The second she had stepped outside, she immediately saw Alice's angered glare at her direction. If there was one thing that Natalya absolutely loved to do, it was to see a person's face be rubbed. When she had learned that the only reason why Alice had wanted to marry Alfred in the first place as due to the amount of money he possessed, she found it absolutely disgusting. Yes, Natalya didn't really care for Alfred as much anymore, but he was her daughters' father and he didn't deserve what was coming to him. No one ever deserved a witch as a wife, "Is something the matter?"

"Actually, there is." Alice immediately blurted out as she crossed her arms and turned to face Natalya, "I wasn't aware that _you_ were also attending this camping trip. And to tell you the truth I'm not so sure that I'm okay with it."

"I agree," Natalya turned her head over to Alfred now. This only made the man confused when he heard this. He thought that she was on his side for agreeing with the girls' proposal - but after remembering how angry she was at the hotel, it made sense, "I think the ex-wife and ex-husband thing is, well, weird."

"Thank you-" Alice began with a smile.

"-I _insist_ that you take my place, Alice." Natalya shot an innocent smile to Alfred. It was almost as if all of the colors disappeared on the American's face. It wasn't that he minded that Alice came… It was just, she was a very high maintenance woman and he didn't even know if she could handle hiking!

"Natalya, I-" Alfred started off.

"-Please, I insist," Natalya repeated herself again. Oh, she'd pay big money to see Alice hiking. She didn't even seem like she had the capability to hike up a mountain and spend an entire evening in the woods. Thus why the Belarusian supposed that it would be a good opportunity for Alice to realize she was making a big mistake deciding to marry Alfred, because not only the money came, but also the consistent hiking and camping trips came along too, "I already ruined your hotel trip after making an appearance. It's the least I could do."

And thus, that's what exactly happened. Natalya had left her belongings in the house while Alice went to retrieve hers. It made her want to laugh seeing the Englishwoman try to figure out what exactly to pack.

Unfortunately for the twins though, they were not happy to see Alice in the passenger seat of their father's jeep instead of their mother. As they were walking out of the house, Anneliese immediately shot a look at her father before whispering, "Dad, what's she doing here!?"

"That's not part of the plan!" Anastasia responded in agreement to her sister.

Instead of addressing his daughter's concerns, all Alfred did was grab their shoulders and force the two to look at him, "Be-" He looked at Anneliese first before turning to Anastasia, "-Nice."

The twins looked at each other with annoyance drawn to their faces. This was not part of the agreement that they had made. By the look on their mother's face as they saw her on the porch, the two immediately presumed that it was her idea. It had to be her idea - after all, this was probably her way of getting back at the girls for lying to her the entire time.

Anneliese and Anastasia climbed into the jeep now where they sat in the back while their mother had simply smiled at this. Natalya hadn't been smiling because she wanted their daughters to suffer during the trip, oh no. If her daughters were that smart, then they would know that this was an opportunity for sabotage.

"Have fun, everyone," Natalya called out from the porch with a wave. The smile on his ex-wife's face didn't slide with Alfred though.

So just before he had started the engine, he turned to his former partner and called out to her, "Natalya, what exactly are you doing?"

At least Alfred still had the smarts in him. With the unexpected question, Natalya tilted her head innocently before crossing her arms. He wanted an answer, yes? So she'd give him one, "What do you mean?" She questioned him back now; Alfred becoming appalled by the response, "I really think that you and Alice need some alone time together."

"No, mom-!" Anneliese turned to face her now, "That's _not_ part of the plan!"

"Wait wait," Alice began with a nervous chuckle. Already, she was not in favor of the trip and didn't even want to go in the first place, "I'm not a nature girl, at all. I don't think this would be a good idea."

Natalya shook her head and shushed the woman, "Nonsense. It's a good opportunity to be exposed to the outdoors," She leaned a bit forward from the porch while still crossing her arms, "Plus a good opportunity to get to know the girls… Since after all, the day you say 'I do'…" Her grin turned into a smirk, "Technically they'll be half yours."

An annoyed look drew to Alice's face as Alfred smiled and turned the keys to the jeep. One thing that Natalya noticed about Alice was that she didn't seem to be fond of kids. She was like that once, but after having two of her own, it wasn't so bad. So as Alfred drove off, Natalya gave her last goodbye by waving and wishing them to have a fun time before her sister stepped outside to stand beside her.

"How much do you want to bet the English woman will crack?" Katyusha couldn't help but giggle softly into her sister's ear. Natalya laughed in response to this statement before turning around and heading inside with the other for a drink.

"Oh, I'm betting her and Alfred's entire engagement."


	19. Ch 18: Alfred's annual Camping Trip

**Chapter 18: Alfred's annual Camping Trip**

The location where Alfred would hold his annual camping trip took place at the top of a hill. This meant that there would be some hiking required, but in the end, it was very well worth it.

This hadn't been the first time Anneliese had gone hiking, but it was for Anastasia. However, Anastasia was a quick learner, so through the help of her sister, she was able to learn the ways of hiking fast. And truthfully, the Russian girl loved it.

Back in Russia, hiking was difficult to even experience. There was also the factor that she lived in the city with her family too, so seeing mountains was difficult to find. She could see mountains of snow during the winter due to them piling up, but a mountain full of trees, rocks, dirt - this was her first time ever experiencing it.

It had also been Alice's first time hiking as well. Within the first twenty minutes of climbing the mountain, the woman was out of breath. There would be consistent periods where she begged Alfred that they stop so she could catch her breath. At around the fifth time she had started to beg, Anastasia was not having it.

"C'mon dad," Anastasia scoffed in response, "By the time we get there, I'll already be twenty-one!"

"Be patient with her," Alfred responded with a heavy sigh, "This is her first time hiking, so give her some space."

While the woman had been sitting down and her father was distracted talking to Anneliese now, it was there that Anastasia noticed a couple of rocks nearby. One thing she didn't understand was why Alice had to bring such an expensive backpack that was going to be destroyed throughout the trip. It had been a black, leather backpack that seemed its purpose was for outings with friends - hiking.

Anastasia snuck her way over to the Alice who was occupied trying to take in her breath. At the same time, she also had been on her phone, trying to find at least some cell phone service so she could stay in contact. But of course, signal didn't exist when a person was in the woods.

Quickly, the Russian girl opened Alice's bag once she had removed it from her back. She stuck a couple of the rocks inside it, and even some within the pockets too. This managed to catch Anneliese's attention, though in response the girl simply looked away while trying to hold back her laughter. Once the rocks were in place, Anastasia had been just about to stand up until Alice had begun to whine again.

"Hey… Whoever's behind me…" Alice began as she laid down on a rock now, letting out a heavy pant, "Someone hand me my water bottle."

Since Anastasia was the only one behind her, the girl nodded in response, "Sure," She began and indeed reached for the said water bottle, until something managed to grasp her attention.

A small salamander had been on a rock nearby. Seeing Anastasia look over at something also managed to get Anneliese's attention. When seeing what it was, she gasped and gave her sister a thumbs up to proceed.

"Brilliant…" Anastasia whispered to herself as she reached for the small creature and placed it onto the water bottle. Oh, this would for sure give Alice the spooks.

"Here you go," Anastasia said as she handed over the bottle to the woman. Alice didn't seem to be paying attention when the girl behind her had sprinted ahead, but instead proceeded to open her water bottle and take a sip out of it.

When the bottle was brought to her lips, she took a couple of sips out of it with her eyes closed to relax. Though when she opened her eyes, her gaze was met with the lizard-like creature. Immediately she dropped the water bottle and screamed; making Alfred and the two girls look at the panicked woman.

"What, what is it?!" Alfred began as he approached the woman who continued to shriek. The twins looked at each other and exchanged a small giggle as she approached the bottle of water Alice threw. The shrieks and squirming that the woman gave made it impossible for Alfred to understand exactly what she was freaking out over.

Anneliese had picked up the creature gently with her fingers, examining it before revealing it to her father, "This little guy was on her water bottle."

When seeing what exactly it was, this made Alfred facepalm slightly in response. It was there that he helped Alice up from the ground, "Alice…" He began with a frustrated sigh, "It isn't going to hurt you."

"I don't care!" Alice snapped at the other as she dusted off the dirt that had been on her bottom due to sitting. But of course, with Anneliese being Anneliese, she held the small salamander towards the Englishwoman now to playfully tease her, "Get that damn thing away from me! Put it down!"

"Okay, sheesh…" Anastasia had been just about to lower the creature back down onto the ground until a better idea popped into her head. Oh, she'd get in trouble for sure, but it would be worth it. As Alice was standing up, a devilish smirked formed along her lips as the Russian girl placed the salamander on her head. Luckily this was done after her father had turned around, so he didn't see… For now.

"Girls," Alfred did call out after a moment and turned to face his twin daughters. By the expression on his face, he was already very annoyed with the situation and didn't even want to think about the next time Alice would demand another resting period, "I'm going to take the lead. You two help Alice." He began, before soon walking off ahead.

This only made Alice snarl in response as she reached over to put on her backpack, "Sure you'll help me…" She said in a sarcastic tone as she stood up. All of a sudden she found her back aching - which was odd, since she didn't remember packing a lot in her backpack, "You two will probably push me off a cliff," She muttered while walking away from the two.

"That's not a bad idea," Anastasia looked over at Anneliese with slight interest when Alice had said this.

"Keep out for one, then," Anneliese nodded in agreement. It was a messed up kind of sabotage, but Alice had brought it upon herself by just proposing the idea to the girls.

As Alice walked away, she couldn't help but to find herself stumbling occasionally. Not due to the fact that she was in a startled state from the salamander, but that her bag was suddenly twenty-pounds more heavier than it was before. Seeing Alice in this state made the girls giggle, "Need a help there, Alice?" Anneliese called out in a teasing tone while her arms were crossed.

It was then that Alice froze and immediately shot a dark glare towards the girls. Oh, this was the first time the two were seeing the Englishwoman's real true colors, "Not from you _two_." She snapped. The girls of course, couldn't take her seriously seeing that the salamander was still on her head, "Don't think I can't see past those bratty smirks of yours. One more trick from you two, and I promise I will make your lives miserable from the day I say _I do_. Got it?"

There were no words from the girls. Anastasia had simply stood there with her arms crossed while Anneliese shrugged at the statement, not really phased by it. As Alice was about to turn back to walk towards the direction Alfred had walked in, all she had done was murmur, "Got it, _Witch of the West_."

Fists formed on Alice's hands. Did she hear that correctly? "What the hell did you say?-"

"Nothing, nothing!" Anneliese shifted back to her normal, casual self now as she walked passed the tensed up woman with her sister. The two children though were grinning at the remark, since well, Wicked Witch of the West was indeed a good way to describe the type of person that Alice was. As the two walked away though, they did call out to her, "Oh, by the way. I think you've got something on your head."

The two girls had ran away in laughter at this point. Alice of course, was left there confused upon hearing this. But with knowing the two and how sneaky they were, she slowly brought her hands to her head to indeed feel something. She grabbed it immediately, and once she had saw that it was the same salamander from before… The loud screams began.

Anneliese and Anastasia hid at a nearby tree to watch the scene go down while their father ran over to Alice immediately, "What? What's going on?" Once again, he couldn't understand a word that Alice had been saying due to her loud shrieks and screams. When she did calm herself though, she looked around and saw the girls peeking from the said tree and pointed towards their direction.

"Ask." She began in a angered tone, " _Them._ "

Slowly, Alfred turned around from her spot onto to make contact with his two daughters that had been hiding behind the said large tree. Their innocent smiles may have fooled anyone, but it certainly didn't fool him.

"What?" Anneliese rested her head against her sister's.

"What did we do wrong?" Anastasia added on; proceeding with the innocent act despite Alice's scared state being their fault.

After that minor incident, Alfred simply dismissed his daughters and practically held onto Alice's hand the remainder of the trip to the campsite. There weren't as many break periods before now that Alfred was helping the Englishwoman, but it still annoyed the two sisters that despite her bratty behavior, their father cared about her.

It made Anastasia tempted to tell her father about what Alice had threatened them earlier when he had went ahead, but Anneliese stopped her from doing so. She reminded the other that Alice was at her cracking point. If they were able to get her to crack officially during this trip, then they wouldn't have to worry any further.

They arrived at the campsite about an hour or so later and it was there that they began to set up the tents. The campsite was indeed a gorgeous location. It was out by a river, so swimming was a definite possibility for the girls as well. The small beach connected to the river made it easier for them to put together a fire too, which had been the first thing they did before setting up the said tents.

Alice had sat down on a log the entire time, watching Alfred and the girls do so. When being asked if she could help, her excuse had been that she didn't know how to put up a tent and didn't want to make any mistakes. That was a fair point, the twins thought to themselves, but it was also her opportunity to learn how to properly put one up.

Alfred had been in charge of supper. He had brought canned beans and fish trout like he always did for every trip, and for dessert there would be s'mores for the girls. Not once did Alice touch her plate of food; seeming absolutely disgusted at the idea of eating fish from a fire. She had been astonished to see too that Alfred and his daughters ate it without any problem.

"You sure you don't want anything?" Alfred began after swallowing a mouthful of food. This only made Alice squirm slightly in disgust before turning away and shaking her head.

"No… But if I may ask," Alice sat up a bit on the log she had been resting on, "What are we eating for breakfast?"

"Trout," All three of them had responded at the same time.

This made Alice groan slightly in annoyance. The more times that Alice groaned, the more Anastasia became annoyed and was beginning to consider the other an actual child. She knew she personally could whine sometimes, but Alice? She was practically the human embodiment of whining!

Alice had came from a background where everything had to be proper. Tea time in the morning, studies in the afternoon, fancy attire - all of that. Anastasia came from something similar too, but compared to Alice, she grew up in a more modern area where the proper-style didn't exist anymore. To Anneliese, she had been briefly exposed to the proper-life at her mother's home, but it was nowhere near the kind of proper that Alice had. It just simply showed the clash of cultures.

"Come on Alice," Alfred tried to bring reassurance to the woman, "It's part of the experience. It's not bad,"

"Yes, it is!" Alice responded as she stood up now and took in a deep breath, "It's disgusting. I'll eat some of the snacks that you brought for dinner,"

"Major party pooper…" Anneliese whispered in a low tone, to which Anastasia nodded in agreement.

By the looks of it, it seemed that Alice was going to bed. Which to the girls was a bit of a relief, but it was also the result of something they both did not nor never want to see.

Alice had bent down to place the blanket she wore around her shoulders down. While she had been at it, she also had reached over to cup their father's cheeks and pull him into a kiss. Alfred seemed just as startled by it, but regardless he returned the gesture with a nervous look on her face. This made Anastasia look away while Anneliese rolled her eyes to express the idea that she didn't really care, and if Alice was trying to piss them off, it really didn't work.

"Goodnight." Alice spoke in a whisper now upon pulling away from the American's lips, now making her way over to the tent that she planned to share with Alfred later.

It was once the woman was gone that Alfred sighed and turned to his daughters, "Okay guys," He began; wiping his lips from the unexpected kiss he was given - which the twins did immediately notice right away. If he claimed to love that woman, why was he wiping away…? "I'm telling you two this now. Leave the chick alone," And he still was defending her!? "I'm not marrying her to piss you two off, but seriously, your behaviors were not cool."

The small lecture their father gave practically went past the twins minds. Yes, Alice made the two girls angry - but with reason too. What made them most upset was that after all that had taken place thus far, that he still didn't realize that he was practically walking the doorsteps of hell by just letting the days pass of being engaged to her.

So after supper and their father had went to sleep, Anneliese and Anastasia had initiated plan, 'Make Alice crack'.

The first step was already achieved thanks to their father selecting the perfect campsite. Originally, the twins planned to simply drag Alice's sleeping bag outside so she wouldn't be in the tent… But oh no, a better idea came to their minds.

Upon seeing that they were next to a slow river, the girls wanted to take advantage of it. They were unsure of how, but when seeing their father blow up a mini air mattress earlier and putting it into his and Alice's shared tent, that was their key to being successful with the plan.

It had been just about two AM or so when Anneliese and Anastasia had snuck over to the tent where the two adults were resting. Anneliese reached over to the zipper of the tent and slowly pulled it, so that way the entrance would open easily. Once it was, the two began with their plan by starting to pull the air mattress that Alice had been asleep on. As they did so, they remained quiet. Anneliese knew her father was a heavy sleeper, so she reassured Anastasia that the likelihood of him waking up was slim.

Regardless, the two with their eleven year old strength, pulled Alice as she was fast asleep on the mattress towards the water. There had been a moment where she did shift in her sleep; making the girls freeze in slight fear that they had been caught, but she immediately went back to sleep. Anneliese and Anastasia exchanged confused looks with each other, but alas, they continued.

Once they were close enough to the water, the two slowly pushed Alice into the waves gently so that way she stayed in a floating state. Large smiles drew to their lips when seeing that Alice hadn't woken up at all as they high fived each other in victory.

"Adios, step-mama." Anneliese giggled to herself as her sister laughed along with her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder; simply admiring the view of the Wicked Witch being taken away by the water.

The next morning came by quickly. After their small sabotage during the early morning, the girls practically passed out asleep in their own tent within minutes of getting back underneath the covers. Normally they wouldn't stay up very late, but in order for their sabotage plan to work, it was necessary.

Alice had been fast asleep on the air mattress when morning did arrive. She had been sleep talking to herself; murmuring small words and occasionally even saying Alfred's name in her sleep while giggling. But of course, by the sounds of ducks quacking near her, it was enough to startle her awake.

She yawned and blinked a couple of times when she woke up; expecting to see the top of the tent. But instead, she managed to meet the sky. Alice released a loud gasp as she shot up; looking around when realizing that she wasn't in the tent anymore. She hadn't moved far from the campsite, but it would be a bit of a swim. It took her about a minute or so after she had woken up from her slumber for the screams to ensue, "ALFRED!"

The screams were loud enough to wake anyone from probably ten miles away. Alfred immediately sat up from being startled awake himself and noticed that the zipper of his tent had been opened. When he peeked his head outside to seeing his fiancée standing on her air mattress in the middle of the river, he couldn't help but to sigh heavily, "Aw man…" What he wanted to facepalm at was that instead of standing by and letting him go get her, she began to stand up on the mattress. It wasn't a good idea, seeing that only seconds after she had done this - she immediately fell into the water.

Alfred turned his head over now to his daughters' tent. The girls were both awake too, rightfully so after that loud scream. Already he knew his daughters had something to do about it, thus why he wouldn't let it slide so easily. But right now, he had to deal with one thing at a time.

After Alice had fallen into the water, she swam back to shore quickly. She had been drenched from head to toe, her face had been reddened in anger and the fists that she made with her hands made it a clear indicator that she wanted to strangle the twins. That was when Anneliese and Anastasia knew; she officially cracked.

"...You, uh, okay?" Alfred began after climbing out of his tent and approaching the tense up woman with a towel.

"No, no I am NOT!" Alice had snatched the towel from Alfred now, and instead of using it on herself, she tossed it onto the ground, "Listen here, bud! The day we get married is the day I send those two little brats back to Russia with their mother and we never have to deal with them again!" She snapped, which made Alfred's eyes narrow at the woman just a bit and obviously didn't appreciate the insult she made about his daughters, "Get the picture? It's me, or them. Choose!"

It only had taken Alfred less than two seconds to make a decision. With a large smile on his face, he leaned forward to Alice and responded, "Them."

Anneliese and Anastasia's eyes widened upon hearing the response from their father. Did they actually manage to do it?... Or was their father simply giving the response that any parent would give? It made sense that any parent would choose their child over anyone, thus why it was the conclusion the twins had reached.

The camping trip originally had supposed to last about three days. But of course due to the last sabotage the girls did to Alice, the trip was officially over. The two girls the entire way back to the house remained silent as Alfred was sighing to himself; unsure of how he was going to explain what had happened to their mother who would probably be surprised.

And indeed, Natalya was shocked to see Alfred and their daughters pull up into the driveway of the large house. Though, there was no Alice with them. Did this mean the woman finally gave up on Alfred? Or did Alfred realize the truth about her? Either way, Natalya had walked down the entrance of the house and approached the vehicle in shock, "You guys are back early - did you have fun on your one day of camp?"

"Well, I wouldn't go right to fun, mom," Anneliese admitted as she hopped out the vehicle and reached for one of the sleeping bags to bring it inside the house. This definitely caught Natalya's attention seeing the sudden behavior with the two girls.

"You wouldn't?" She questioned now and turned to look at Alfred, who simply was shaking his head at his ex-wife since he didn't even want to tell her what happened.

Anastasia approached her mother now while carrying another sleeping bag in her arm and a backpack in the other, "We've been punished until the next century."

"No way," Alfred responded as he glared at the girls, "You two are punished until you're in your graves." This made Natalya snicker a bit seeing the sudden parent-side of Alfred's make an appearance, "Both of you, inside, now."

Seeing that Alice wasn't with them, Natalya had concluded that her disappearance was probably the reason why the girls were not only punished, but Alfred had seemed pissed, "Where's Alice?"

"Gone." Anneliese answered truthfully as her mother followed her up the stairs to the entrance of the house, "Ana and I played a couple of harmless tricks on her, she took it to a whole other level, threatened to make our lives miserable and dad cut her off. Rest is history," She summarized it to her mother, which made Natalya's brows rise in a bit of amusement.

A sigh then came from her lips once they were inside the house, "Oh, Alfred… I feel like it's my fault," Natalya admitted to the other and ran a hand through her hair, "If I hadn't suggested her to go with you instead-"

"Nah, it's fine." Alfred looked over at Natalya with a reassuring smile now, wanting her to know that he didn't blame her, "I knew you were just tryin' to be nice, but… I guess Alice has her own issues to deal with too."

It was interesting to Natalya to hear that Alfred seemed to have realized that his fiancée wasn't the kind of person in the right state of mind. Alice seemed like a nice woman when it came to business, but when it came to family relations and kids… Not so much.

"We're really sorry, dad…" Anneliese began after she had taken off her shoes and placed them by the door.

"Really, dad. We didn't mean it," Anastasia continued along with her sister.

But of course, Alfred just leaned over to the two and spoke, "Up to your room," He started off, "Right now." It wasn't that he was angry at the girls, in all truths. When he was younger, he would pull similar pranks with other people with his twin brother… But now that his daughters had inherited his sneaky mind? It was hard for him to believe that he didn't even realize that the girls had practically sabotaged every little thing for Alice just to make her snap.

Once the girls were gone, he turned to Natalya who had been standing there with her arms crossed. To him, it seemed like she was probably the most amused about the situation rather than guilt. This didn't surprise him, since he could tell day one that Natalya didn't seem fond of his newly founded fiancée.

"I have to thank them one day,"

"Huh?" Natalya rose a brow as she heard this.

"Thank them…" Alfred sighed now and reached into his pocket to take out the engagement ring that Alice had thrown at his head. It was there that he turned his hand into a fist with the ring in the palm of his hand. The entire time she listened to Alfred speak, Natalya kept her focus on him with even more interest, "I was about to make a stupid mistake, y'know? Learned from them that the real reason she was after me was because of the big bucks."

"So now you've realized…" Natalya couldn't help but to reach over and pat Alfred's shoulder as a way to indicate to him that she was proud of him. She then rested her back against the entrance door of the house, "Good. I'm happy that you didn't listen to the idiot side of your brain and make a stupid mistake."

Alfred laughed at Natalya's statement, but it sure did make him feel better about the whole situation. One thing he couldn't help but to notice though was that when he did return with the girls, was that his brother wasn't around, "Where's Matthew and your sis?"

"Oh…" Natalya snickered at this before taking a step forward towards the other, "Well… They went on a picnic around noon…. _Yesterday_." Alfred's brows rose in amusement now. He knew that his brother had a huge interest to Natalya's older sister, but he didn't expect for him to make any big moves like that so soon!

"Didn't you bet with your brother that they're probably fuckin' at this point?" Alfred couldn't help but to ask the other, which Natalya couldn't help but to begin laughing at while nodding in agreement.

"Years ago," She answered, "I said they were, Vanya said they weren't. If I won, he has to pay for Anastasia's college tuition. If he wins, then I can't get married to another American again."

Stereotypical Ivan. This wasn't surprising for Alfred to hear, since he knew for years that the Russian man absolutely despised him. Alas, he changed the topic of discussion to a more important one… Well, at least, he thought was more important, "So, what do you think we should have for dinner? I could whip us somethin' up."

"Since when did you learn how to cook?" Natalya questioned. At this point, the two had already began making their way to the kitchen where Franklin had been waiting to greet his owner back from his trip.

Alfred smiled at his dog and gave the k-9 a couple of pets to the head, "Well, it's nothing fancy. I could make us some hamburgers… Maybe some steak too for the heck of it."

Natalya couldn't remember the last time she had a hamburger. They did exist very well in Moscow, yes, but she was never the kind of person to consume one, "Hamburgers, hm…?" She thought about it for a brief moment, "I like that idea."

"Well then," Alfred grinned at the other as he reached for an apron that had been hanging up next to the stove, "Hamburgers it is."


	20. Ch 19: Catching Up

**Chapter 19: Catching Up**

The remainder of the day had only consisted of the four of them. Natalya's sister and Alfred's brother still hadn't returned from their previous picnic, thus resulting supper to be very easy for Alfred to put together seeing that there weren't a lot of people.

The entire time they sat and ate, Alfred had asked Anastasia how things with her seeing that he didn't get the rundown unlike Natalya, who was able to learn about everything Anneliese had been doing with Alfred during the separation. Anastasia had explained to her father about things she had been doing, such as activities she participated in, interests she had, but the biggest one that caught Alfred's attention was how she was able to speak a couple of languages easily.

Alfred choked on his food after taking a bite out of his hamburger and then glancing over at Natalya, wondering how she managed to teach her that much, "How does that work?"

"It's similar spellings and sayings," Natalya answered the question while using a napkin to wipe her mouth as the two girls giggled seeing their father's sudden shock, "I bring her on trips with me too when I'm working, so after hearing it for a while it's easy to pick up orally."

This made Anneliese nod in agreement. It was true that learning a language was easier when presented orally since she was able to learn better Russian than French just by being given oral lectures by her sister at camp. But of course, it all depended on the type of person.

"That's really interesting. I'm more of a visual learner, so it's interesting to hear the perspectives of how it worked for you two," Alfred commented as he glanced at his daughters with a smile. If anything, it was definitely an awkward feeling for the four of them to be having dinner together for the first time.

It was almost as if they were a family again.

Dinner came to an end after an hour or so, thus resulting in Natalya sending the girls upstairs to get ready for bed. She had helped Alfred clean up from the dinner, though what she wasn't expecting was to hear him ask her if she'd like to see his wine cellar. It was a strange invitation indeed, but she figured that she may as well say yes, seeing that she was interested to see with her own eyes just how successful the man had become over the years.

Natalya had waited downstairs in the living room patiently while Alfred had run up the stairs to make sure that their daughters were asleep. At the same time, he also had changed his shirt into a more nicer looking one and brushed his hair to give himself a clean appearance. Once he was settled with how he looked, he went over to the bedroom where the girls were still awake and playing video games with each other at a very low volume so their parents wouldn't hear. But of course when the girls noticed their father peeking from the door, they were about to panic and insist that they were going to bed - but something managed to catch their attention even more.

"Lookin' good, dad," Anneliese commented with a bit of a smirk drawn to her lips.

"And where are you going this evening looking so fancy?" Anastasia couldn't help but giggle now.

Alfred smirked at his daughters from the door before reaching over to turn off the light, not even daring to answer their question, "Goodnight ladies," He responded and soon closed the door. Once the two were left alone, Anneliese and Anastasia looked at each other with their eyes full of excitement at the possibility of what their father could be doing.

When Alfred had returned down the stairs, Natalya couldn't help but to feel her brows raise just a bit seeing the other's change in appearance. All of a sudden he went from a regular t-shirt to a nice dress shirt? While there she was in a simple sundress and light sweater, "If you had told me that we had to be in business casual for this, I would've changed too you know," Natalya commented, which only made Alfred laugh at her joke before leading her to a door that was connected to the house.

Upon opening it, the two were revealed to a staircase that went down. It was dark of course, thus resulting in Alfred reaching for a flashlight and holding out his hand to the other, "Hold on. The switch is downstairs," He explained. Natalya found herself hesitant for a brief moment at this gesture, but she didn't oppose. Instead, she took the hand that was offered to her as the two walked down the stairs. As Alfred had told her, when they had reached the bottom he reached over for a switch and flipped it on; all of the lights within the surrounding area turning on in response.

"Oh wow…" Natalya couldn't help but to gasp in amazement upon seeing the rows and rows of wine bottles that had been presented on the multiple shelves that had been in the room.

Alfred smiled upon seeing the other's reaction before nodding and leading her onto the ground floor, "I'd call this my secret stash," He explained as he led her over to one of the shelves, "But it's not just wine in here,"

This made Natalya lean towards the shelf in interest as she tried to peek inside it, "What do you mean, 'not just wine'?" Did he have a secret stash of something else?

Without even answering, all Alfred had done was open the shelf to reveal a variety of different liquor bottles. Not just any kind of liquor, but specifically, vodka that he had managed to find and purchase from the Nations that not only surrounded Russia, but Russia itself.

"Holy shit-" Natalya crossed her arms and looked at Alfred, letting small chuckles escape her lips, "I didn't know you took an interest in Russian water either."

"Eh, I don't drink it," The American explained while reaching for a particular brand of the liquor and looking at its label closely to see the date, "But it's good to sample and taste," From there, he held out the bottle to the other for her to see as well, "This one is from 1915; they say that this brand, in particular, was the one that Tsar Nicholas II drank all the time with his family at supper."

Natalya examined the bottle now, absolutely amazed. Not only did she know Alfred had an interest when it came to wine seeing that it was a staple he watched his parents drink while growing up, but vodka of all liquors? Did he become so interested in the drink that he even paid to have certain brands from centuries ago to collect? It was astonishing to her.

Once she was done examining the bottle, Alfred had led her over to another shelve where he opened it. This time, the bottles inside were much more dustier than the others. This resulted in him taking out a tissue to quickly wipe it off so the two could see.

"Now this one…" He began as he held it out to Natalya with a grin, "Take a look at this."

In her hands, Natalya had taken the bottle gently and examined the label closely. It only took her a couple of seconds to see the date, "Amazing… 1935… How did you manage to get this?" She looked at him, a bit interested to know how someone like Alfred managed to get his hands on old brands of vodka.

"I know people," Alfred gave her a wink, this making Natalya's eyes roll in response while the other placed the bottle back. It was as he was doing so though, that Natalya couldn't help but to notice a particular brand of bottle resting beside the bottle that Alfred had placed back.

She couldn't help but to reach for it now and examined it. When Alfred had noticed what brand she had picked up though, he felt a sense of panic hit him, "I've seen this one before…" She looked at him now with her brows risen, "I don't know where… Where did you get this one?"

What Alfred presumed was that she only had been asking to clarify her confusion, which was fair. However, he couldn't help but to find himself nervous seeing her hold onto the bottle now which it may have been a simple bottle to her, but to him, it served plenty of memories, "It's… The one that we had at our wedding, Nat. I kept it."

Natalya was silent now. As she examined the bottle, she could remember her sister bringing it to them at their wedding and Alfred being the one to open it before pouring a glass. It was a sweeter brand of vodka, yes, but it was enough to get the American tipsy for the night. Alfred thought that Natalya had become upset knowing that where the bottle was from, but… She wasn't. Instead, all she did was laugh softly to herself and place it back with a smile drawn to her lips.

"Seeing you get tipsy over a glass of that was probably the highlight of that day." Natalya's voice progressively became quieter as she stood there now. It was almost as if all of the memories of their wedding day hit her.

It was truly one of the most happiest days of her entire life. She never thought that she'd be getting married only a month after meeting Alfred, but they managed to do it. She remembered being fitted into her old mother's wedding gown and walking down the aisle while her brother kept giving an angered glare to Alfred. Though when she got to the end, she almost went weak to the knees upon seeing the large smile that was on Alfred's face. This made her bite down on her lower lip just a bit at that moment as she reached up to wipe what she believed was dust in her eye, but really it had been a tear.

"Oh hey - are you okay?" Alfred began upon seeing the sudden shift of behavior change with Natalya. He closed the shelf now and turned to face the other with a bit of concern on his face.

But Natalya didn't want him to worry, "No- Don't worry, I just got some dust in my eye," She sighed and took in a deep breath.

"Well, if you want," Alfred began with a gentle chuckle, "I could offer you a clean sleeve."

This made the two laugh at each other. It was obvious that Alfred could tell that their wedding truly meant a lot to her. Even if she refused to admit it, he'd happily admit that it was probably one of the best days of his entire life. It was why it was so sad to him… Their marriage was probably better than most marriages, but all he did was mess up once and ruin it all.

"You don't have to be so brave all the time, Natty…" Alfred began in a lowered tone as he looked down at the woman in front of her. It was at this point that Natalya had been looking down now; refusing to make any sort of eye contact with the other.

There was one thing that Natalya hated, and that was to be seen as weak. She liked to present herself as a strong woman that could take on any challenge… But really, Alfred was pushing the wrong buttons at the wrong time, thus making her turn into such a hesitant state as she was in now, "Oh…" She looked up; unaware of just how close the two had become within a matter of seconds, "But I have to, Alfred."

Alfred couldn't help but to find himself reach over and rest a thumb against the other's cheek. He looked down at her and shook his head at the statement she had made; disagreeing. Though with Natalya, that was what she fully believed. If she presented herself weak, then she wouldn't be seen as the strong woman that she was presented as today.

Though one thing that the two hadn't realized was how drawn they were to each other at that moment. Natalya didn't push the other away when he had touched her cheek, which surprised Alfred. Nonetheless, he simply had been trying to comfort her knowing that the memories of their wedding were indeed very painful to remember. Even to that day, despite almost being married once again, his and Natalya's wedding was something he didn't even recover from quite yet.

Slowly, the American found himself leaning down just the slightest. It was almost as if it were instinct to do so, but what shocked him the most was seeing Natalya return the gesture. The two were only centimeters from their lips touching….

….Until the sound of a door opened.

This was enough to startle Natalya back into the reality as she looked up at the other with widened eyes; unaware of what was about to happen. By the expression Alfred made as well, she could tell he was just as startled…. But upset in a sense too, "They're back," Alfred began and lowered his hand from the other's face now. The two weren't expecting for Katyusha and Matthew to return anytime soon seeing that they had spent practically more than a day alone by themselves. At least it was at night rather than morning, though that didn't mean the twins wouldn't possibly question in the morning where their aunt and uncle had gone.

Natalya took a step back now from the other and nodded in agreement before she had crossed her arms, "I'll go let them know we're here," She stated and turned to walk back up the stairs to greet the two adults. Alfred had been left standing there now with frustration drawn to his face.

After years of not seeing Natalya, he had realized at that moment that the love he had for her wasn't gone. It was still there; the same love that experienced the first time he had been able to get a glance at her. This made him rest his face against his hand now; trying to calm himself from the anger of letting her go that easily all of those years ago.

"Damn it…"


	21. Ch 20: Saying goodbye… Just not yet

**Chapter 20: Saying goodbye… Just not yet.**

It was the early morning when Natalya, her sister, and Anastasia had to gather their belongings and bring them to a taxi that waited outside the large home. Part of the punishment that the girls had received for sabotaging Alice during the camping trip was that they had to confess who was who. While the girls didn't like it, they agreed to their parents' conditions.

The agreement that Alfred and Natalya had decided on was the original plan for switching the girls during their long holiday breaks. That way they wouldn't miss out on their original activities or schoolwork. The girls weren't in favor of the decision at all, but of course, they couldn't really do much after all they had done within the past couple of days.

Alfred had been hugging Anastasia in a tight embrace while Natalya had done the same to Anneliese to exchange their goodbyes. Anastasia had managed to do well saying goodbye to her father, but Anneliese had been a whole different story. She found herself clinging to Natalya for more than a minute; occasional sniffles coming from her while Natalya soothingly rubbed her back and told her that she would see her very soon.

Once the hugs were exchanged with the parents, the two sisters now embraced each other. Alfred and Natalya watched their daughters do this while Alfred simply kept looking at Natalya; astonished that he even had agreed to this while Natalya's mind had been in a completely different place.

Was she making the right decision? The previous night when she and Alfred had been alone, she felt something. It as almost similar to the same way she felt the first day she had met him. Well, on the day she first met him, all she felt was confused with why he wanted to flirt and go on a date with someone like her. But over time, she felt the confusion turn into care. That was exactly how she felt. Even if Alfred made stupid decisions sometimes, she truly cared about him a lot… And it hurt her to see the other in such a sad state with having her gone.

Unfortunately, that was how it had to be.

Anneliese and Anastasia broke from their hug now before their mother had handed over an umbrella. Outside it had been downpouring rain, which isn't that common in the area of California that they were in. Perhaps this was fate's way of acknowledging that today was a sad day for all of them. Not only was the separation of two sisters taking place, but the separation of a man and woman who still cared about each other very deeply.

Natalya turned to face Alfred now who already had been looking at her this entire time. Katyusha had already said her goodbyes to Alfred, Matthew and Anneliese, so she had been waiting in the vehicle with Anastasia now just waiting for Natalya to join them.

With a hand reached out to her, Alfred had rubbed Natalya's arm soothingly as the woman looked down. It only made Natalya feel even more guilty, because it didn't have to end like this… But she believed it was her bravery that was making her do this, "Take care of yourself, Natty."

"Mhm, I will…" Slowly, the woman leaned over to place a kiss against Alfred's cheek, which definitely was a bit of a shock to him. All she had done in response to this was reach up and cup his cheek; gently caressing it in the palm of her hand. The expression Alfred had on his face made it seem like he wanted to say something, such as 'don't go' or 'please don't leave me again', but Natalya stopped him before he could, "...Take care of yourself too."

Those were the last words that Natalya had exchanged with Alfred before running over to the car where Anneliese stood outside the door. With one more hug to her daughter, she couldn't help but to whisper, "Take care of your dad for me," Which definitely managed to catch Anneliese's attention. She nodded at her mother's request though, before watching her climb into the vehicle and close the door.

And thus, they were off.

Anneliese had walked back towards the direction of her father to watch as the car drove off. There as silence, absolute silence between the two of them.

Though after about thirty seconds or so, it was then that the two exchanged a look at each other. Like father like daughter, the two almost instantaneously came up with an idea.

"I'll go grab the passports," Alfred began.

"And I'll go grab my bag," Anneliese finished off, before the two were already running inside and scrambling to get their belongings together.

The flight back to Russia was as expected, the usual. The transfers in Boston to London, then London to Moscow - nothing too different. The entire time Anastasia had rested on the plane, especially since she was exhausted after the past couple of days.

Though for Natalya, her mind was completely out of place. It was almost as if she were reflecting on herself about what had taken place back not only during that period of saying goodbye, but the previous night where she and Alfred had examined bottles of old vodka brands.

To her, she still couldn't figure out if she had made the right solution to leave Alfred again. The first time she knew it was the right choice, but now after once again… She was unsure. The expression that Alfred gave her and the tears that came from Anneliese when she hugged her, it pained the woman deeply. It pained her just as much when she agreed to split custody of the girls with Alfred, but the pain she experienced of leaving them again was nowhere near what she felt during those final moments.

When they had arrived to Moscow, the three ladies dealt with their luggage to be brought out to a taxi that would be waiting for them. Today was a snowy day in Russia, so of course things had been a bit more slower than usual. The process of gathering their belongings took an hour or so, and by the time they had reached to the taxi it had been about an hour and a half.

The process to get back to the large Russian home was just as long. Normally, the trip from the airport was about forty minutes or so but naturally it took more than an hour seeing that the snowfall had resulted in traffic to build up. Natalya didn't mind this though, especially with seeing that during the entire trip Anastasia was able to rest and recover from all of the events that had taken place.

When arriving, Katyusha had been the one to unlock the door before they all stepped in. Anastasia handed over her jacket over to her mother once inside to be put away before beginning to wander through the hallways. She didn't know her if her uncle had been home, but she figured that she may as well go greet him after not seeing him for a while.

Natalya put the coats away and presumed that Anastasia was off to go find her uncle, but she expected her daughter to know that he was probably in his study doing work and not randomly wandering the house, "I'll go greet big brother," She looked over at her Katyusha, who nodded in response. It was there that the woman wandered down into one of the hallways until she had reached a large door. From there, she gave it a gentle knock before peeking her head inside to see a newspaper being held up by a pair of hands, "We're back, brother." She began under her native tongue. But instead of being greeted by her brother's face, it was instead, another.

"Hey mom," Anneliese began as she lowered the newspaper. Natalya's jaw dropped upon seeing her second daughter all of the sudden. Wait - Where was Ivan? And how the hell did she get there?! "Did you know riding a private jet is much more faster than a stereotypical flight with transfers?"

Natalya had opened the door fully now and stood there in disbelief. She blinked for a moment in confusion, before rubbing her neck nervously - unsure of how to react, "Uh, yes…" She began, "I've heard of that before."

"Mama, who are you talking to?" Anastasia's voice came from outside the door as she spoke in her native language. She stepped inside the study now, only to see _who_ exactly her mother had been speaking too. Anastasia felt her jaw drop before she burst out laughing. Not from the fact that she was shocked to see Anneliese, but how she managed to get to sit in Ivan's study chair - because no one was allowed to! "What are you doing here?"

Anneliese sat up in the chair now with a large smile on her face. It was amazing to Natalya to see how the last time she saw that face, she was crying… Yet, there was her daughter again, smiling happily as if the goodbye had never happened, "You see, it took us about thirty seconds after you two left that we… didn't want you leaving our lives ever again. We couldn't bear the thought of losing two important people from our lives."

"... _We_?" Natalya questioned with a blank stare.

It was then that she saw it. From a dark corner, Alfred had taken a step out now. In his hands he held a bottle of liquor… But not just any kind of liquor. It had been the liquor that had made Natalya tear up upon taking glance upon it. It was also the same liquor that the two drank at their wedding.

"We." Alfred confirmed for her as he placed the bottle down now onto the desk. Natalya's eyes widened upon seeing this, unsure of how to react. But without letting her have a chance to speak, Alfred already had walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders, "Listen," He began in a serious tone as he examined the woman's facial expression. Natalya's face had reddened around her cheeks while her hands were formed into fists, "I made the mistake of not coming after you once, Nat. I'm not gonna do that again and fuck it up," It was then that he leaned forward with a grin on his face, "No matter how brave you are."

Natalya was silent. Her hands had released themselves from fists before she took a glance at the two girls who were standing beside each other now with smiles on her face. To her… She just, couldn't believe it.

"And you expect for me to go weak in the knees with that damn smile on your face, jump into your arms and cry as you say we'll just figure this whole thing out-" Already, Alfred had cupped the other's cheeks with his two hands; the smile on his face becoming even larger and larger as he stared into the frustrated woman's eyes, "-form some sort of relationship with you, then face the difficulties of our daughters being raised here and there, and you and I just picking up where we left off..." She reached over to rub her eyes in frustration, "...Live happily ever after together, grow old and watch our daughters grow…? How the hell do you think-"

The small rant that Natalya gave didn't even process through Alfred's mind. Instead, to calm her from her building outburst, he had leaned forward and had done something he had been wanting to do since the second he saw her again.

Natalya's eyes widened when feeling the other press his lips against hers. The sudden gesture made almost every pent up emotion she experience - vanish. Anastasia at this point had fallen into Anneliese's arms from shock, while Anneliese laughed and fanned her sister to make sure she didn't faint from shock.

The kiss lasted for a second or so before Alfred had pulled away. There were no words given by Natalya, aside from a blank stare and softened expression at the action the other had just done. She was speechless.

"Just shut it, Natty." Alfred had spoken in a low whisper now; caressing the other's cheeks as he tried to calm her from the sudden shock that had taken place with being given the sudden kiss, "We'll figure it out. Stop worrying about it."

"But I have to-" She had been just about to start it up again, and thus, she was silenced by a kiss once more. This time Natalya had dropped the fists completely that she had in her hands and instinctively found herself in a tight embrace with Alfred. If there was one thing, she didn't expect that her journey home would lead her right back in the hands of Alfred.

As the two remained in a close embrace, Alfred had pressed his lips against Natalya's and couldn't help but to feel a smile form when realizing that she had officially given in and returned the gesture. Once every few seconds, the two would part for some air, before once again their lips met again.

The entire time the scene had played out, Anastasia had managed to maintain her composure… But once again was stumbling when seeing her father kiss her mother. She couldn't help but to clutch at her chest and feel a large smile form along her face, because if anything, _that_ was the first time in years she's ever seen her mother that happy.

"We.. Actually did it…" Anneliese looked over at her sister with a large smile on her own face, before she shot her hands up and began sinking to the ground in celebratory shrieks.

That moment was indeed the start of a happily ever after.


	22. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Fireworks made their way into the air as they exploded. Just in front of them stood Natalya and Alfred in a close embrace as they exchanged a kiss with one another. The audience in front of them had consisted of mostly family, while their daughters stood beside them with beaming expressions on their faces. Anastasia smiled as she held onto the bouquet that originally had been in her mother's hands while Anneliese held had her phone out; taking as many photos as she could for the photo album their aunt planned to put together.

Natalya had been wearing a gown in white. A veil had been on the top of her head with flowers decorated along its ends. The dress she wore consisted of laced sleeves that decorated up to her collarbone, while the skirt of the dress had been layered in silk. Her hair had been curled and she wore a bit of make-up as well to compliment the look. For Alfred, he wore a clean-cut black tuxedo with a white bow-tie and white boutonnière shaped as a flower to complete the look.

It was the second wedding day of the two. But this time, it wasn't rushed.

The proposal to get remarried was made the same day that Alfred and Anneliese chased Natalya and Anastasia back to Russia. It was unexpected, yes, but to Natalya's dismay, she agreed to it. Her reasoning behind the agreement was that even if they were legally divorced, by heart they were still married after all of these years.

The preparation of the wedding though took a span of three months unlike two weeks with the first wedding. The first step was to break the news to each of their families; starting with Natalya's first.

 _It had happened the same day as well. Natalya had called her brother upon learning that he had gone out for the afternoon, telling him to mentally prepare himself for returning home. The purpose of her saying this was not to draw concern, but for him to genuinely stay calm when he stepped inside._

 _This was because the second he did step inside and entered the dining room, there sat Alfred with a cup of hot chocolate and a large smirk drawn to his lips while his two daughters stood beside him, "S'up commie." Were the only words that Alfred gave to the other as he sat back in his seat, "Ya know, your sis is really good at makin' hot chocolate. You should tell her that."_

 _There were no words exchanged by the larger Russian, but he did immediately storm into the kitchen and stand behind his little sister's back who had been in the middle of preparing herself a cup of tea._

" _Natalya…" Ivan had begun; his eye twitching in slight frustration upon seeing why the American was there in the first place, "You told me to be calm, but I have every right to know what he's doing here."_

 _Natalya didn't answer her brother for a solid twenty seconds. As the seconds passed, Ivan could feel himself become even more frustrated and tense over the situation. Returning home after a trip was not the ideal scenario that he had in mind. He expected it to be maybe Anastasia returning and her perhaps being tired - but Alfred of all people?_

 _When she finished her cup of tea, she turned to face her brother now while stirring the hot liquid with a spoon. It was obvious that the man expected an answer, and thus, she gave him one, "To see our daughters, of course."_

" _He could see them anywhere else." Ivan retorted, "But not here. I am calm as you said, Natalya. But there's clearly something else you are not telling me." He was a really good reader. And as said, he was indeed correct. There was something that had happened - quite unexpectedly too. It was then that he saw it._

 _A ring. Not just any ring, but a ring that he's seen before resting upon his little sister's ring finger. Ivan's eyes examined it from a distance before it clicked. Was that… The same engagement ring that Alfred had given to Natalya years ago? Why did he still have it?... And why was she wearing it now? By the smile on Natalya's face when she saw her brother's expression, this was enough to confirm his suspicions._

" _We're getting married again." Natalya finally confirmed Ivan's confusion before taking a sip out of her tea innocently._

" _You're, what-!?"_

Natalya's older brother was probably the hardest person to tell the big news to. The rest of that day, Ivan simply exchanged angered glares with the American, who didn't pay too much attention to it. All Alfred had done was make teasing remarks to the other just a bit to piss the other off, which made Natalya roll her eyes and Katyusha roll her eyes in frustration since the two knew that even after not seeing each other for years, they still managed to pick on each other over the littlest things.

When the day of the wedding arrived, it was absolute chaos in the morning as per usual. With the groom and bride having their own needs to be tended to in order to make sure they were ready for the wedding, then their daughters working around to make sure that they didn't see each other - it was very busy that a moment of break was nonexistent. But in the end, it was worth it.

Alfred and Natalya had both walked down the aisle after pulling back from their kiss with the two of their daughters following just behind them. Following them came Katyusha who had been a sobbing mess after witnessing her younger sister being married once again, while Matthew held onto the Ukrainian's arm to make sure she didn't trip her anything while walking back up the aisle.

"Everyone line up!" Natalya had motioned to the ladies who had attended the wedding to stand behind her to throw the bouquet. Almost immediately everyone had done so, eagerly telling Natalya to throw. Even the twins had went up as well to go fo the bouquet, which made Alfred want to stop them due to not liking the idea of his daughters' futures already being determined. But of course, Matthew pulled him back by covering his mouth.

When the bouquet was thrown, almost every woman had been jumping and trying to reach for it. But to everyone's amusement, it didn't land in anyone's arms…

...Except for Ivan's.

The Russian male looked at the bouquet in confusion, unsure of what it meant. Yes, this wasn't his first time attending a wedding before, but how Russian weddings were handled were _much_ different compared to a stereotypical one.

"Hey, Ivan!" Alfred removed his brother's mouth from his hand to laugh, "Who's gonna be the lucky lady?!" This was enough to make Natalya gasp at her husband, finding it rude to even say such a thing, while the twins had begun laughing at this.

It took Ivan though a second or so to realize the real meaning behind the throwing of the bouquet. Upon understanding what this meant, his face became annoyed before he approached his nieces with an innocent smile and handed them to the two, "What do you mean?" He said innocently, "You should be asking your daughters the question."

Anneliese and Anastasia looked at each other now in confusion. Did their uncle just grant his permission for them to get married when they were older now? That most likely had been the case, seeing that Alfred's face paled the second he saw the flowers in his daughters' hands. This made Natalya cover her mouth and laugh now; not honestly expecting to see her husband as the protective father type.

The remainder of the day had been spent at the reception of the wedding. Dancing had taken place, the cake had been carved, and even small pranks were pulled with the girls. They were minor things of course, such as putting a whoopie cushion on Alfred's chair, quickly switching their parents' slices of cake with a cake that had shaving cream instead of frosting, and even photobombing some of their parents' wedding photos. Of course, Natalya and Alfred didn't seem to mind, seeing that the girls were only having fun and weren't causing any sort of harm.

It had been now just about midnight when the attendees of the wedding had returned to their hotel rooms. The girls had their own separate suite next to their parents, so despite being a wedding day, Alfred and Natalya tended to their parently duties first. By this point, the two were wearing more casual clothing unlike their fancy attire from before.

Natalya tucked in the two girls who were passed out asleep in their beds. She had placed a kiss on top of Anneliese's head, followed by Anastasia before turning off a nearby lamp that had been on. She turned her heel and quietly walked away from the two beds to her husband who stood by the door, patiently waiting for his wife to join him.

"So," The Belarusian began once the door was locked. She looked up at the other who had not his usual childish grin on his face… Oh no, it was more of a smirk. A concerning one indeed too, which made Natalya a bit unsure of what he may have been thinking about, "What do we do now?"

"Well… We've got the entire night, Mrs. Jones." Alfred began as he found himself taking a step closer to her. This made the expression on Natalya's face become full of confusion, and rightfully so. Unfortunately for Alfred when it came to his intentions, sometimes it was difficult for Natalya to pick up. It especially didn't help that the two had been drinking a good amount during the reception as well, "Our… Honeymoon technically doesn't start until tomorrow, but…" He leaned forward before whispering into her ear, "Maybe we can go for a _quickie_. When was the last time you had one, huh? With me?"

He went straight to the point. Natalya's face reddened now upon hearing the words, and she had been just about to respond back to the statement - but already, the other's lips had met hers. She, of course, returned the gesture made by her husband, before being the one to pull away and sigh heavily.

"You know, Alfred…" The woman began with a teasing smirk of her own now, "A _quickie_ was what got me knocked up with twins in the first place."

"Perfect." Without letting another second pass, already the American had been leading her to the suite that had been next door to their daughter's. The lights were turned off, leaving the room pitch black once they entered and closed the door. It was once the door was locked that Alfred turned to face the other who was only visible through the moonlight that shined through the light, "Let's go for triplets then."

Unfortunately for the couple, despite believing that their daughters were asleep, that wasn't necessarily the case. It was after the couple had left the room that Anneliese shot up from bed to turn on a night light, while Anastasia reached over into her bag to pull out some earplugs. All she was glad about was that she knew she'd need them.

"Now…" Anneliese whispered as she sat beside her sister; a notepad and pen in her hands as she turned to the Russian girl who was trying to sleep. But of course, this didn't seem to happen. Instead, she proceeded to pester her sister, and she started off with holding out the notepad with a title on it.

Anastasia stared with a blank look on her face upon seeing the title of what it said. This made her eyes widen, and immediately she turned to her sister, "Anneliese, what are you doing?"

"Part two of our operation," Anneliese grinned as she began to scribble words down onto the sheet she had put together, "Operation Part one: Parent Trap, a success… Now, time for operation part two."

"Operation…." Anastasia hesitated, "Part two?"

It was as Anastasia questioned this that Anneliese had handed the notepad to her now. It was there that she was able to see the title visibly and couldn't help but to choke on her breathing. Sometimes her sister came up with the craziest ideas, and while the switching operation was indeed a crazy one - this one that she had come up with was even crazier! "Operation part two…" Anneliese continued with her proud smirk.

"...Operation: the Baby Sibling Trap."

* * *

Finally, we've come to the end of this story!

Thank you so much again for reading. I hope you enjoyed the fic. I know the updates were very fast, but as I said, I've already had the story done and written out for the past week or so. Plus I know the feeling of how painful it is to wait for a chapter to update, so instead, I figured it'd be best to upload all of the completed chapters whenever I had the free time.

Stay tuned for future fics! :) Who knows, maybe I'll bring back Anneliese and Anastasia for some other fun stories too.

 _-TheSovietsAreHere_


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